Tangled In Chords
by Maldrian13
Summary: Twenty years have elapsed since the former New Directions went off into the real world to fulfill their dreams and begin new adventures. The Glee Club has been disbanded ever since Sue Sylvester dissolved the club all those years ago, but now with everyone back in Lima and a new face to take over the show choir, will the New Directions rise again? It's the true underdog story. SYOC
1. Smells Like Teen Spirit

**a/n: Here's the first chapter, I hope everyone enjoys it! And be sure to check out my tumblr and polyvore for all the characters in this amazing story. Thanks so much to everyone who is supporting me by reading this, it means a lot! :)**

**~~ Tangled In Chords ~~**

_[Flashback]_

_Twenty years ago..._

_Will Shuester walked into Principal Sue Sylvester's office after the New Directions lose at Nationals, awaiting the worst. So many thoughts were rushing through his mind, his stomach felt like it had dropped 50 feet, and his palms were becoming sweaty. All his hard work these past four years was about to be defined by the one woman who had tried her hardest to detour and destroy everything he set out to accomplish. It wasn't fair. Glee Club had offered a home to students at this school who felt like outcasts, and it gave them the confidence to believe that they truly were special, even after the whole world told them otherwise. Taking Glee Club away would be like ripping the heart and soul right out of McKinley High School, and that's something Will just couldn't accept._

_"I bet you're hoping for a last minute reprieve," Sue said from the chair at her desk. "and then I'll say something about how your plucky band of pinhead minstrels overcame so much to get where they did. And how second place is...actually an achievement."_

_"Uh...I can't say I wasn't secretly hoping you'd consider it." Will replied, fiddling with his hands._

_"Well I have considered it, more than you know. But I just can't." Those words cut Will like a knife. "In the words of ex-principal Figgins, my hands are tied. I'm the principal now, William, and my job is concerned with the health of the entire school, not just the fiefdoms that I like. And I do like you, William. That's why I'm so mean to you. With that being said," Sue held up a piece of paper, "The Cheerios stay because they won. So does the debate team, the football team, the girl's soccer team, and Mock U.N. However, diving, academic decathlon, actually decathlon, and yes, the Glee Club...need to go." Sue removed her glasses and threw them on her desk._

_"Should I fight?" Will asked, sounding defeated. "Should I make a speech about the arts or how much this club means to me personally?" He wondered, taking a seat on the couch._

_"You can save that for your wife. It will probably turn her on." Sue replied, occupying a seat next to Will. "It won't make any difference here."_

_"So this is really it?" Silence. "What's going to happen to the choir room?"_

_"Well it's prime real estate, they'll probably turn it into two classrooms." Sue answered. "And since we won't be needing the band anymore to play everything from obscure Broadway to Queen in a moments notice, probably sell off their equipment, buy some computers. But chin up Shuester, look where you were four years ago when you started this thing. You've got a National Championship trophy from last year in that case, and a bunch of other loser trophies standing with it. You and your team have done phenomenally well, and you did it with the world's greatest nemesis playing her best game against you."_

_"You didn't lose, William." Sue said, sympathetically, "The game's just over."_

_[End Flashback]_

Twenty years later and that memory still left a bitter taste in Will's mouth, but he wasn't the one sitting here today in front of Principal Sue asking to bring the Glee Club back. It was his and Emma's 20-year-old son, Riley Shuester. The college student had been in his third year at the University of Northwestern Ohio when he realized something was missing from his life-music. His parents had convinced him to join the show choir his freshman year in high school. He had attended Dalton Academy and performed as the lead singer for the Warblers for four years. Riley had thought about taking the teaching job at Dalton, but decided to coach the Glee Club his father had instead, that is, _if_ he could convince Sue Sylvester to reinstate it.

"I already told you Justin, we don't have the funds to bring the Glee Club back. We didn't have the money then and we don't have it now." Sue explained.

"Um...my name's Riley." The blonde-haired Shuester corrected.

"Oh, sorry, I was getting you confused with the lead singer of that boy band, N'Sync."

Riley furrowed his eyebrows. "You mean Justin Timberlake?" He asked.

"No, the really blonde one, Buttchin Jr." Sue replied.

Riley attempted to maintain his composure despite Sue calling him names. He was serious about getting the Glee Club back, and he wasn't going to do that by playing her little games.

"What if I got boosters to pay for the club?" Riley asked.

"The Glee Club doesn't have any boosters, the club didn't even exist when half of them joined the board, but even if it did, they would never be able to afford to keep this club running. It costs hundreds of dollars a month, and that's not even counting the expenses for bus trips, props and costumes, or competition fees."

"What about the students that were in the club when my dad was coaching? All of them have kids, I've met most of them, and I'm pretty sure they'd be more than open to all of them joining the Glee Club." Riley just got an idea. "If I can convince the old New Directions members to pay for the Glee Club to stay open, with the guarantee that all of their kids will be singing and dancing like pros in no time, would you consider reopening the club?"

Sue mulled it over in her head for a minute. She had to admit, the kid had some good ideas, even if he did remind her of a grown-up version of one of the blonde kids from the 90's boy band, Hanson.

"There's no evidence showing that this is going to work..." Sue paused for a moment, "but if you can get enough people to sign up and convince the New Directions to pay for it, I don't see why I couldn't proposition it to the school board."

"Does that mean I can start recruiting?" Riley asked, excitedly, nearly jumping out of his chair.

The principal looked annoyed. "God, do I have to spell it out for you!? Yes!" Sue answered, exasperated.

Riley suddenly dashed towards Sue, and before she could stop it, or punch him in the face, he was giving her a hug. "Thank you so much for the opportunity." The newly appointed Glee Club director rushed off to the gymnasium where the activities fair they had every year was being held, wanting to get the sign-up sheet posted as soon as possible.

"I now have to burn this jacket." Sue said, remaining aloof.

**~~ Tangled In Chords ~~**

McKinley's gymnasium was bustling as students from all grades eagerly awaited to sign up for clubs with their friends as this year's back-to-school activities fair kicked off. There were booths for every possible interest a student could have, whether it be in sports, like football and soccer, or in a more creative area of study, such as theater and art club. It was an event where people from all walks of life could feel they were accepted and genuinely belonged somewhere.

Out in the halls, the scenery was quiet and desolate as students crammed into the gym. The lights were dimmed with only the sunshine from outside to illuminate the surroundings, in an effort by Sue Sylvester to save money on electricity. She had mentioned something about needing a smoke machine for Homecoming, so who knew what that was all about.

Augustus and Liliana Corcoran were coming from the guidance counselor's office after receiving their class schedule for this semester. They were new to the school this year after moving to Lima from Staten Island, New York. Their mother, Shelby, had decided to relocate to be closer to family after the death of her husband and Augustus and Liliana's father, Alexander. He had been a chief sergeant in the Air Force for many years before he was killed in action six months ago. Shelby will never forget the day those Air Force commanders showed up on her doorstep to tell her her husband had been killed in a plane crash. She and her children took the tragedy very hard, but they couldn't let it stop them from living their lives, so in hopes of starting over, they left everyone they knew and moved here to begin a new slate.

"This school reminds me a lot of the one back home. I get a good vibe from it. I think this move will be good for us." Augustus said to his sister, always trying his best to remain optimistic even in the most difficult of times. His heart was crushed when he heard the news of his father's passing, but he knew he had to stay strong for his mom and sister. That's just the type of stand-up guy he was, always looking out for others and asking for nothing in return.

"I already hate it." Lily replied, not even bothering to glance up from her phone to look at her brother while talking. "I wish we never would have left New York."

Liliana had a much different outlook on life than Augustus ever since the death of their father. Where August saw the good in most situations, Lily only noticed the bad. She began dressing differently, treating people poorly, and shocked everyone with her serious attitude adjustment. She went from friendly, popular, star of the girl's soccer team, to rebellious and angsty emo kid in under 24 hours. Her life had turned completely upside down, and now no one knew how to get her back on the right track.

"Look, Lil," Augustus spoke, using the nickname he gave his sister when they were little, "I know things have been really hard lately, but we're going to get through this. I promise." And when Augustus Corcoran made a promise, he meant it. No matter how much time it would take or how many nights he had to stay up reading Lily her favorite book until she stopped crying and fell asleep, the one their dad always read to her when she was feeling sad, he was going to keep his promise. Love from someone like August was unconditional, once he cared about you, and he's cared about his sister his entire life, he exhausted every fiber of his being to make sure you were okay.

"I wish I could believe you, but everything's different now." Lily said, sounding depressed. "I've abandoned my old life, now I just want to be left alone."

"You should know by now that I can't let you do that." August responded, offering up a small smile at his sister. "Ever since dad died you've been acting out. You've changed your wardrobe, dyed your hair. You do know mom's still mad at you about that, right?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. "As far as I'm concerned, you need someone to keep an eye on you."

August was trying to be rational given the circumstances. He wanted to protect her, but he was having trouble figuring out how. It always felt like one step forward with her and two steps back. She had never been an easy person to deal with, even before the incident, so now with all this pent-up emotion and anguish she had, it just made her harder to talk to.

"Hey, I don't need a personal body guard, alright?" Lily replied, getting defensive and a little angry. "I can take care of myself. And as far as mom's concerned, it doesn't matter to me what she thinks about my hair. I'm 16, I can do whatever I want with it." She said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Okay, I'm sorry for bringing it up." August apologized, holding up his hands to show he meant no harm on the subject. He was always the one to be the bigger person and step down when he realized his comments weren't going to get him anywhere. "I'm just trying to look out for you."

"Well I appreciate the gesture, but I don't need it." His sister acknowledged. "You should have fun at this school while you're here. Meet new people and join clubs and all that jazz...just leave me out of it." And with that, Lily walked away, much to August's disappointment. He wished for a moment he could read her mind and see how she was feeling, maybe then he would understand why she was making herself so miserable. However, tomorrow was another day to mull over the strange inner workings of his sister's mind, right now he wanted to stop by the activities fair.

August walked down the hallway towards the gymnasium, when he reached the entrance he stepped inside and looked around at all the options. Half the students had already left or went outside to the courtyard, so the place was less crowded. To his right was a sign-up booth for the swim team, and to his left was one for the school newspaper, but the club that really caught his attention was the dead poets society. He moved swiftly over to the table where two girls were sitting, chatting. One had strawberry blonde hair in a side braid, pale skin, and beautiful hazel eyes covered by brown, large, round-framed glasses. She was dressed in a cute floral sundress and red flats, with her nails painted to match her hair color. The other had thick, wavy brown hair, big baby blue eyes, and a gorgeous smile. She was one of those girls that made beauty look effortless. Her clothing style was somewhat similar to her friend's, while also giving it a tomboy edge. She was rocking a violet dress with a brown, high-waisted belt, black biker jacket, butterfly necklace, and brown and white flat loafers, with a sunflower-printed headband tied in the back.

Both girls looked up to see August standing in front of them, the red-head trying to keep her jaw from dropping to the floor. Thankfully he directed his gaze away from them just long enough for her to mouth 'he's so hot' to her friend. The brunette reciprocated with a playful nudge to her arm, telling her to knock it off.

"Hi," August greeted with a smile, believing he had caught their attention. Hazel Lopez-Pierce, the girl wearing glasses, nearly lost it right there. His voice was even sexier than he was, if that's possible.

"Hi," Madeleine Puckerman, the more calm and collected of the two replied. She had to admit, he was pretty darn cute, but she wasn't about to get all hot and bothered over it.

"Are you here to sign up for the club?" Her friend pleaded more than asked. "You must really enjoy writing, I'm the same way." She was practically bouncing out of her chair at his point, causing Madeleine to roll her eyes and stifle her laugher.

"Uh, yeah, I was planning on it." August responded, answering her question. "I'm into writing all sorts of stuff, like short stories, or poetry, or song lyrics. It's all good in my book." He said, making a pun. This made the brunette smile. Who knew he had a sense of humor too.

"You write song lyrics? Does that mean you can sing too?" Hazel asked. "God, you're perfect."

August chuckled. "Well if you count singing alone in my bedroom, then yeah, I guess so. I've written a couple songs and played them on my guitar with a few simple chords, but nothing too serious, it's mostly just for fun. I'm really more focused on writing a novel and getting it published one day. It's been my dream to be an author since I was a little kid, so I figured this club would be the best place for me to start."

He was literally an angel sent from heaven, Hazel thought. He loved to write, he clearly had a good sense of humor, he could play guitar, and to top it all off, he was ridiculously good-looking. The thought had crossed her mind to store him in a little jar and keep him in her bedroom, but even for her that was incredibly weird, so she dismissed it. Hazel knew exactly what she needed to do next. She saw that look on her friend's face while he was talking, and whether Madeleine wanted to come clean about it or not, she was into him.

"That's super sweet, and I'd love to stay and chat some more but I just remembered I need to sub-in at the volleyball booth, so I'll catch you guys later." Hazel said, sending a wink towards her friend before taking off. Madeleine looked somewhat displeased; she knew exactly what Hazel was trying to accomplish and she wished her friend would stop meddling in her love life. When Maddie realized she was so immersed in her own thoughts that she forgot August was still standing there, she immediately snapped out of it.

"Sorry about her, I hope she didn't make you feel awkward." The junior apologized in place of her friend.

"No, not at all. I thought she was sweet." August answered sincerely, pulling up a chair and sitting on it backwards, placing his folded arms on the backrest.

"I have to be honest," she said in a low voice, "I'm not even in this club. I just came over here to talk to her."

This made August smile. "It's okay, your secret's safe with me." He replied in the same low voice, receiving a small laugh in response. "I'm Augustus, by the way, but everyone just calls me August."

"I like that." She said, grinning. "I'm Maddie, short for Madeleine."

"And your friend?" August asked.

"Oh, that was Hazel. She can be a little..." Maddie thought for a moment, "well, Hazel-like."

The two both cracked up at this. That was literally the only way to describe her. "Yeah, I get what you mean. I like her though, you guys seem like really good friends."

"We are," Maddie replied, "we'll probably be besties for life. I know that probably sounds cheesy, but it's true. My life definitely wouldn't be as exciting without her in it."

"I don't think that sounds cheesy at all." August said, honestly, inching his chair farther forward until it touched the booth. Gravity was pulling them closer together, making it feel like they were just two friends catching up after a long summer vacation apart.

"Really? Thanks." The brunette responded with a sweet smile, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, trying her hardest not to blush.

"You're welcome." He countered, getting up from his chair. "But hey, I think I'm going to check out what else this school has to offer. We should hang out again sometime, all three of us." August suggested.

"Yeah, that would be nice." Maddie happily agreed. "I'll give you my number." She said, looking around for a spare pencil and piece of paper.

"Here." He said, grabbing a pen that was delicately placed in his ear. "And you can just write it on my hand." August offered. "I do it all the time when I come up with ideas for stories that I don't want to forget."

"Okay, whatever works." Maddie stopped her search and picked up a pen from the table. She gently grabbed his hand from over the booth and pulled it closer to her. August noticed how soft her hands were and how tenderly she caressed his in hers. Maddie began scribbling down numbers, each indentation sending a sensation through his palm. She paused halfway through to glance up at him. He was just staring at her, and not in a creepy way, it had more of an endearing quality to it. Maddie tried to refocus her attention on her writing as her heart began beating rapidly in her chest. She didn't understand how such a simple gesture could feel so intimate, yet it did.

"Alright, all done." She said, looking up from her _handy_ work. August probably would have found that funny, Maddie thought to herself.

"Great, I'll call you later." August waved before heading in the other direction of the gym. Maddie was totally planning on scolding her friend the next time she saw her, but for now, she was content with how well her day was going thus far.

**~~ Tangled In Chords ~~**

Jenna Ben Israel, snoopy reporter and daughter of Jacob Ben Israel, was wandering around to different activity booths with her camera crew for the school newspaper, interviewing students and getting exclusives with some of the most popular kids at McKinley. People referred to her as the trendier, better looking, mean-spirited, and more ruthless version of her father. She was less annoying, which made interviews run smoother, but she was still super gossipy and would do anything for a juicy story.

Her boyfriend, Teddy McLaren, was her loyal and dedicated camera man. Whenever Jenna got wind of a news story, Teddy was one step ahead of her with his camera firmly in hand. They were the dynamic duo of reporting, like Clark Kent and Lois Lane, only without the superhero alter ego.

"Teddy, hurry up!" Jenna asserted, rushing to talk to the school's resident player and ladies man, Austin Lopez-Pierce. Her boyfriend had been lagging behind her, trying his best not to run into any students and drop his video camera.

Jenna already had a microphone shoved in Austin's face by the time he reached them. The wide receiver for the football team stood at an astounding 6'4, towering over the small reporter, making her look even shorter. His styled, dark brown hair, bright green eyes, dimples, and killer abs and body were what attracted women to him, whereas his cocky and egotistical mannerisms tended to rub people the wrong way. Austin began dressing like a preppy frat boy after his many appearances at college parties over the summer, and today he was sporting a light blue collared shirt, khaki shorts, Sperrys, and a snapback.

"Austin, can you confirm or deny the rumors that you hooked up with several college girls this summer, and even got into a fist fight with Ryan Edwards, the star point guard for Northwestern Ohio's Spartans, after you allegedly made out with _his_ girlfriend in _his_ swimming pool at _his _beach house?" The reporter asked, causing everyone around them who was paying attention to their conversation to go silent and listen intently to his response.

"No," Austin replied, much to everyone's disappointment, "but I _can_ say that Ryan is going to make a full recovery after someone, I'm not going to disclose who, broke his nose."

This made Jenna smirk. "Thought so." She said, scribbling something down on her notepad. "Now, what do you have to say about the rumors going around that you broke up with Nicole Jantz, one of the sweetest girls in school, on her birthday last month?"

"Nicole and I didn't work for a lot of reasons." The junior answered. "She's a nice girl and everything, but I couldn't see anything happening long-term."

Not many people knew this about Austin, but he genuinely cared about the well-being of others. He broke up with Nicole because he didn't want her to waste anymore of her time thinking he was going to commit to her. He just wasn't that type of guy. The only mistake he made was forgetting the date of her birthday.

"Fair enough." Jenna replied. "Last question..."

While Jenna was asking him something about this plans for this year, Austin spotted what he thought to be a familiar face from across the gym, talking with some faculty members and teachers of his. But no...it couldn't be. He had to be hallucinating. Disregarding the reporter's question, Austin reached into his pocket and pulled out his schedule for this semester. He read the list of classes as follows:

_1st Period English 5-6 with Grant Coleman_

_2nd Period AP Biology with Amber Leytum_

_3rd Period World History with Lyla Montgomery*_

That was the name of one of the college girls he had hooked up with earlier this year. She must have been a senior and graduated, now she was teaching at McKinley. Austin took a deep breath before redirecting his attention back to Jenna. "I'm gonna have to take a rain check on that last one." He said, jetting off in the other direction towards Lyla. Austin didn't take a lot of time to think his decision through, but he figured now would be a better time to explain himself rather than in a classroom with twenty other students.

Austin made an abrupt halt in front of the McKinley High teachers, causing them to stop talking and look at him. Lyla was the last one to turn her head, and when she saw him her facial expression turned from happy and giggling to confused and somewhat horrified. Her eyes went wide as she tried to keep her composure whilst amongst her colleagues. Lyla's hands were placed on her hips as she attempted to catch her breath, in fear of passing out due to the loss of blood rushing to her now boggled brain.

"Are you alright, Lyla?" Amber Leytum, one of the school's science teachers, asked, sounding concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just feeling a little sick all of a sudden." She replied, sending a death glare at Austin. "I think I'm going to go see the nurse." She signaled him to follow her out of the gym, but don't make it look obvious.

With her back leaned up against a row of lockers and her arms crossed over her chest, Lyla impatiently waited for Austin to show up in the hallway before she smacked him as hard as she could in the arm. "What the hell!? Why didn't you tell me you were in high school?"

"Sorry! The thought never really crossed my mind when you had your tongue down my throat." Austin countered.

"Don't do that, don't blame this on me." Lyla chastised, trying to keep her voice low so no one would hear them. "_You _are the one who decided to attend that party, knowing fully well that there would be drunken college girls there."

"Well you're not completely innocent either Ms. 'my boyfriend just broke up with me and now I need a shoulder to cry on. Just kidding, I'm only using you for sex.' Get over yourself, Lyla, you're just as guilty as me in this scenario." Austin replied.

Lyla wanted to slap him so hard in the face, but she knew that wouldn't be fair to him. He has right, what happened was both their faults. "Let's just forget it ever happened, alright?" Lyla suggested. "I mean, it's a big school. We'll probably only see each other in the hallways every so often, so let's just be adults about this whole thing and put it behind us. As far as you and I are concerned this is the last conversation we are ever going to have."

Austin could live with that...except there was just one small problem with her proposal. "Whatever you say, teach." The junior spoke, refusing to offer up an explanation before walking off down the hallway.

"Wait, what?" Lyla asked, confused.

"I'll see you in class." Austin said with a smirk and a wave over his shoulder. Then, in a split second, he was gone, leaving Lyla with the realization that the predicament they found themselves in was less than opportune.

**~~ Tangled In Chords ~~**

The setting switched from the gym to the auditorium, where the thespians and drama kids had their booths set up. Their signs were much more decorated and theatrical than everyone else's, giving off a creative vibe you would only expect to see from such melodramatic individuals. Franziska St. James and Stephen Evans were up on stage, Franziska rehearsing her lines with her co-star for this year's play, _Romeo and Juliet, _while Stephen attempted to finish up his assigned, summer AP Calculus homework over her incessant talking. She had been chosen as the female lead for Juliet, and despite how much Stephen loved his girlfriend, he sometimes found it annoying that she constantly had to remind people of how talented she was, intentionally showcasing her skills to people she believed to be her inferiors. Frankie was identical to her mother in that aspect.

_"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." _Franziska spoke dramatically, reciting the lines from the notable Shakespearean play. Her curly, chestnut brown hair danced behind her as she moved around on stage, her deep carmel eyes catching the stoplight, twinkling like the star she wanted to become. Her olive complexion blended well with her colorful and sleek choice of wardrobe. Frankie was the epitome of high fashion and New York sophistication, while also maintaining a nice balance between chicness and sex appeal.

"What did you think of that delivery, Stephen?" She asked her boyfriend, braiding the front few strands of her hair. She did this when she was nervous.

"It was Broadway worthy, honey." Stephen replied, keeping her solid ego in tact. "Real exceptional job." The senior knew you couldn't use words such as 'good' or 'fine' when describing Frankie's performances, otherwise she'd have a heart attack and go crazy. She took the performing arts and her dreams very seriously. She wanted to be a star on Broadway like her parents, and she knew the only way that was going to happen was if every aspect of her singing, dancing, and acting was sheer perfection.

"I knew it, I'm so going to nail this part!" Franziska said, excitedly, high-fiving Stephen. She went to do the same with her co-star, but he just shook his head.

As Frankie continued practicing, the doors to the auditorium opened and in walked a fairly short girl with long brunette hair and dark brown eyes, the noise causing Stephen to glance up from his homework. He looked at her intently, not recognizing her from anywhere.

"Psst...hey, Ziska," He whispered, using the nickname everyone gave her, "check out who just walked in."

Franziska had made it clear to Stephen that he was to alert her whenever he noticed or believed to know of someone who may be interested in joining the theater club, just in the off chance they needed to do some serious recon. There was no way she was going to be caught off guard by some amateur trying to steal her time in the spotlight.

The junior scanned the girl closely. She didn't seem to be a threat; Frankie could immediately tell when someone was going to be competition. They had a certain self-confidence to the way they presented themselves, much like her own personality, and this girl wasn't showcasing any of the warning signs. She looked nervous and out-of-place, almost as if she didn't know whether she should be here or not.

"Let's go talk to her." Frankie suggested, heading towards the stairs. Stephen set his notebook down and sild off the edge of the stage to follow her. The two waited until she reached the end of the aisle before introducing themselves.

"Hi, I'm Franziska," She grinned, displaying her million dollar, megawatt smile. "This is my boyfriend, Stephen." The senior sent her a small wave. "And considering I'm the student body elected president of the drama club, I thought it was only fitting for me to welcome you to the performing arts."

"Well, technically, it wasn't really a vote." Stephen cut in. "You made up the position and appointed yourself without consulting the theater director."

"Pshhh," Frankie laughed, improvising a reaction to make it seem to the girl that her boyfriend was just kidding, "he said, she said." She replied, waving him off. What was Stephen trying to do, sabotage her!? "Anyway, have you performed in any shows before, or is this your first time doing something like this?" She asked, finally allowing the girl a chance to speak.

"I was just looking for the bathroom..." She responded, appearing somewhat weirded out by the two people in front of her. Did they normally just walk up to complete strangers and start talking to them? If so, that was a little strange. Franziska and Stephen looked extremely shocked and embarrassed, glancing around every which way so they wouldn't be forced to make eye contact.

"Oh..." Frankie replied, feeling dumb.

A few seconds passed in silence, until the anonymous girl couldn't keep a straight face any longer and burst out laughing. "Oh my god, I'm totally kidding." She confessed, putting her hands on her knees to avoid falling over from laughing so hard as the punk'd couple stood there, not knowing what to think. "I'm really sorry for messing with you guys. It's just, you both had such good intentions that I had to, please don't take it personally."

Franziska was pleasantly surprised. She may have underestimated this girl. She and Stephen had never been ones to look down on someone for having a good sense of humor, so she decided to go along with it. It was always better to have a friend than an enemy.

"Wow, you definitely got us." Stephen replied, him and Frankie both laughing.

"I'm Lyssa," she introduced herself, "I'm new here this year."

"Well you're in luck, because you couldn't have found two better people to befriend on your first day. We'll teach you everything you need to know to succeed and thrive at McKinley." Frankie assured, more than happy to take the girl under her wing and show her the ropes. She was an amazing role model, and if she already wasn't so insanely talented, she would love to have someone like herself be her guide in the theater world. "I mean, Stephen's incredibly smart, so if you ever need assistance with homework, he would be more than happy to help you. He's a sweetheart that way." Stephen nodded in agreement. "And I'm..." Franziska thought about all her amazing attributes and wondered if there was a way to sum up in a sentence how truly one-of-a-kind she was. Then a lightbulb went off in her head. "well, me." Nailed it.

"Gee thanks, that's really nice of you guys." Lyssa replied, appreciating their kind gesture.

"That's just the kind of people we are." The junior replied with a smile, bringing Stephen closer to her so they were touching at the hip.

"Alright, well, I think I saw a sign over there for the jazz band, so I'm going to go check that out and then I'll be right back." She waved to her two new friends before heading over to the booth on the other side of the auditorium. This finally gave Stephen and Franziska a chance to talk privately.

"Hey, are you sure this is such a good idea?" Stephen asked his girlfriend. "I mean, I know your intentions are good, but it seems like every time you attempt to give someone advice it usually comes across as you being bossy and self-centered. Not that I think that!" Stephen clarified, being one of the only people who saw past Ziska's overbearing personality to see that she was really a caring and considerate person. "It's just, other people have come to me and said that your attitude towards them felt like you were implying you were better than them. And I've seen what a good person you are, so I know that's not true. Yeah, you're super competitive, but I know you would never intentionally hurt someone's feelings. I guess what I'm trying to say is...take it easy on her. It sometimes takes people a while to get used to your..." Stephen thought for a moment then smiled, "unusual charm."

One thing Franziska always loved about Stephen was that he never lied to her. She knew she was difficult to work with, and Stephen had no problem telling her that, in fact, most of the time it was something she needed to hear. "Well I appreciate your honesty," she said, smiling at him, "and I promise I'll tone it down. But seriously, what's the worst that could happen?"

The couple walked over to Lyssa and found she had moved on from the table for jazz band and was examining a different sign-up sheet.

"Hey, what happened to your love for musical instruments? You realize it wasn't the right fit for you?" Stephen asked.

"What can I say? I'm more of a singer." Lyssa replied. "I didn't know you guys had a Glee Club at this school."

"We don't." Franziska responded, somewhat confused.

"Well then what's this?" The new girl asked, holding up the sign-up sheet.

"Let me see that!" She commanded, snatching the paper out of Lyssa's hand. If there was a Glee Club at this school, there's no way she wouldn't have known about it. "Do you guys know what this means?" Frankie asked after reading over the paper.

"Yeah," Stephen replied, "the New Directions are back."

The three of them exchanged glances before adding their names to the list.

**~~ Tangled In Chords ~~**

Charlotte Puckerman and Aaron St. James were stationed at the "Student Government" booth in the courtyard of the high school, reminiscing about summer vacation and playing a game over who could get the most people to sign up for the club. Charlotte had only scored two members, one of which she was pretty sure only joined because he thought she was hot, which she was, but that wasn't the point. Her friend on the other hand had already committed eight students. Aaron would say it was because people took well to his laid back attitude and charming personality, but Charlotte thought that was a load of crap. Most people were just too scared that if they looked at her the wrong way she'd slash them with her vicious words, so they opted for a more friendly approach.

"This game was a terrible idea." Charlotte huffed, throwing her pen down on the table and leaning back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. She was sporting a padded, navy vest over a white, long sleeved polo, turquoise skinny jeans held up by a brown belt, a leopard-printed bracelet, and a pair of knee-high, brown leather boots.

"You thought of it." Aaron replied with a smirk, mimicking the girl's position. He was dressed down in a plain, dark green t-shirt, blue jeans, and tennis shoes. Aaron preferred keeping things as simple as possible in many aspects of his lifestyle. "I'm not even supposed to be here, remember?"

It was true; Aaron wasn't even in student government. The only reason he was here was because everyone else on the governing board bailed and Charlotte didn't want to be here alone, so she dragged him along for moral support.

"This is a waste of time." The blonde sighed, her facial expression listless. "I say we blow this off and hit the mall. It was renovated over the summer so now there's a book store. I'm dying to know if they've received my copy of Jack London's _The Call of the Wild_."

No one, besides Charlotte's close friends and family, knew that she loved reading so much. At school, she was seen as the star tennis player. Not many people saw passed her two-faced, manipulative ways to notice there was a closeted nerd buried deep within. Then again, the junior didn't particularly see a problem with that, considering she thought most of the students at this school were irritating and mundane.

"I can't," Aaron responded, "I have to swap with someone on the baseball team in an hour. Sorry." He apologized, sounding sympathetic.

"Great, now even my best friend's flaking on me. You suck." Charlotte replied, hoisting her legs up on the table and turning her body away from him. There wasn't an ounce of truthfulness to her statement, she was just bothered by the fact that Aaron was one of the few people who wanted to hang out with her. In all honesty, she loved Aaron to death, but he was still a guy, and sometimes a girl needs another girl to confide in and understand her.

"Well maybe you'd have more friends if you hadn't pissed off so many girls at this school." Aaron said, chuckling. "I mean, half of them don't like you because you spread a hostile rumor about them, and the other half are still bitter over the fact that you broke up with them before you two even really started "dating." He continued, gesturing air quotes around the word 'dating.'

Aaron had a point. Charlotte was a heartbreaker, and most of the girls here knew about her reputation. She was all flirty and charming one minute, but the second she got bored with you she was done. It was time to move on to someone else. Aaron believed his friend couldn't maintain a stable relationship to save her life.

"Okay, so I'm not the nicest person in the world and have commitment issues, so what?" Charlotte swept her imperfections under the rug, something she did on a repeated basis, and brushed aside any concern her friend may have for her social life. Aaron didn't apply himself to a lot of things, whether it be his lack of participation in school work or his unmotivation to accomplish what he deems "meaningless" tasks, but one thing he continually put effort into was his relationship with Charlotte. The two had been best friends since early in elementary school, and although most people failed to realize it, Charlotte wasn't a bad person. She just made bad choices sometimes, something any person could be found guilty of.

As Aaron was trying to articulate a response to ease his friend's troubled thoughts, Lily Corcoran, one of the new students at McKinley, took a seat on a picnic bench across from their booth. She had set her backpack on the table and cracked open a John Green novel entitled _Looking for Alaska._

Charlotte and Aaron noticed her immediately. It was as if all the sunlight in the courtyard had fixated on her, causing her fair and radiant skin to glow as light reflected atop the sunglasses on her head, creating a blanket of warmth in the atmosphere. The way her wavy, chestnut-brown hair swept to one side as she looked down at the book in her hand made Aaron go into a trance, her beauty almost hypnotic.

"Who is that?" Aaron murmured, breathlessly. If she went to school here, there was no way he and Charlotte wouldn't have noticed her earlier. She had to have just transferred.

"I don't know, but she's way out of _your _league." Charlotte replied, swinging her feet off the table and getting up.

"Shut up." Her friend countered. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm going to talk to her." The junior answered, heading towards the picnic table. Aaron leaned back in his chair, awaiting their interaction.

As Charlotte neared the girl, she finally had a good chance to take in all her features, and good lord was she gorgeous. Everything from her chocolate-brown eyes to her chic and stylish wardrobe had all signs pointing to this girl being her type. She even thought the camera necklace around her neck was cute. How someone could be so immersed in a book yet look so stunning while reading it was a mystery to her. Charlotte never knew someone could make concentration look so hot before.

"I love that book." She said, impeding the girl's reading, gaining her attention and causing her to look up. The expression on her face didn't seem like a happy one; it was more of a resentful scowl. This encouraged Charlotte to quickly change the subject. "Nice streak," she complimented, referring to the hint of pink in her hair, "how'd your parents take that one?" Charlotte asked, trying to break the ice with some humor. She didn't understand why she was so nervous, she never had a problem talking to girls prior to this.

Liliana wasn't budging an inch though. She still had a permanent grimace on her face. Aaron could tell from where he was sitting that things weren't going well, Charlotte looked completely uncomfortable. He thought it might be a good dose of karma for her though. Now she knew how the girls she dated felt when she started flirting with someone else right in front of them.

"I feel like we got off to a bad start." Charlotte continued, fiddling with her hands to keep herself busy. "I obviously didn't think before talking and interrupted you while you were reading, so I'm sorry about that. I just wanted to talk to you but I didn't really know how to start the conversation, so I commented on the book you were reading." Silence. "I feel like I'm taking too much, do you feel that way?" She asked nervously, hoping she would get a response from the girl.

Lily let out a heavy sigh as she closed her book. "My mom hates it; no, you didn't think, and yes, you are talking _way _too much."

It took Charlotte a moment to understand everything she said, but then she realized she was responding her to questions/observations all at once:

_How'd your parents take that one?_

_I didn't think before talking._

_I feel like I'm talking too much, do you feel that way?_

"Now, if you're done bothering me, I'd like to get back to reading my book." Lily said, opening to the bookmarked page and continuing where she left off before she was interrupted.

Charlotte walked slowly back to the booth where Aaron was still sitting, laughing, with a huge smile on his face. It was apparent he found their little exchange quite amusing.

"Can it, St. James. That wasn't funny." She said, mirroring the scowl Lily had from earlier.

"I thought it was pretty funny." The senior disagreed. "I think I may even like her more now after that."

"How could you like her?" Charlotte asked, bewildered, still feeling the blow to her ego. "She's rude, inconsiderate, and from what I can tell, the only time she opens her mouth is to insult you."

"She's probably just like that way to you." Aaron replied, unable to stifle his laughter.

"Shut up." Charlotte mumbled, resting her elbow on the table and placing her chin in the palm of her hand. She didn't want to admit it to Aaron, but despite how impolite Lily had been to her, she still kind of had a thing for her bossy attitude. It was somewhat twisted in a way, but Charlotte had a feeling this wasn't the last time she and the new girl would cross paths.

**~~ Tangled In Chords ~~**

Jenna Ben Israel and Teddy McLaren were at it again, this time catching up with Yoshua Chang after he pulled another classic prank on the teachers of McKinley. The mischievous sophomore had brought three baby turtles to school and unleashed them in the gymnasium. What the teachers didn't know though, was that he had labeled their shells '1, 2, and 4,' so no matter how long they looked for the "third" turtle, they would never be able to find it.

"Yosh, how would you say this prank compares to the one you pulled last year, when you put helium in the teacher's lounge?" Jenna asked.

"I think it's still hilarious," he replied, "but school's only just begun. I have so much more prepared as we progress further into the semester."

"Could you give us and the fans watching any spoilers for what's to come?" The reporter questioned, secretly dying to know herself.

"Well, let's just say one of my pranks involves a tape recorder, six gallons of milk, two rolls of duct tape, and a crowd full of people watching."

"Sounds ridiculous. I can't wait to see what you come up with." Jenna replied, signaling cut.

As Teddy turned off his camera, students began parting the hallway like the Red Sea as Mr. Coleman came walking over with a scowl on his face. "Yoshua, Principal Sue would like to see you in her office. Let's go." The students clapped as he was ushered by the teacher to the principal's office. Yosh believed getting a whole month's worth of detention would be a fine price to pay to see his admirers happy.

"I swear, my mom and dad are going to kill him one of these days." Kaitlin Chang, Yosh's sister, said while walking up to her reporter friends. If there was one advantage of having Jenna Ben Israel as your best friend, it was that you could rest easy she was never going to print an embarrassing story about you in the school newspaper.

"I'm surprised they haven't already." Teddy replied, putting his video camera in his backpack and zipping it shut.

"At least it makes for a good news story." His girlfriend thought, handing her microphone off to one of her freshman assistants.

"How much trouble do you think he's going to get into?" Teddy asked.

"Not as much trouble as he's going to be in when my parents get through with him." Katie assured. "I mean, they've already changed his curfew to 3 o'clock, so he has be home no more than 30 minutes after school lets out; not to mention they've revoked his Harry Potter reading and watching privileges and stored his ukulele in the attic until further notice. Next step with probably be chaining bars to his window."

"Man, your brother is fearless," Jenna replied, "stupid, but fearless."

The three of them made their way to the cafeteria for lunch, where Teddy ordered a sub sandwich from the Deli, Jenna picked up a light salad and an apple, and Katie grabbed her usual chocolate milk, along with some french fries and a slice of cheese pizza. They all took a seat at a small round table, the same spot that had introduced them to each other last year. Well, Jenna and Teddy had been dating since 7th grade, but it did acquaint them with Katie, and the trio had been inseparable ever since.

"So, did you guys hear that Riley Shuester is taking over the Glee Club this year?" Jenna asked, pouring some ranching dressing on her salad and mixing it with her fork.

"What?" Katie spoke, sounding confused yet delighted by the recent news.

"Yep, he convinced Principal Sue to reinstate it. You thinking about joining?" She laid out a question to her friend, shoveling a piece of lettuce into her mouth.

"Well now that I know about it, of course." The junior replied. "You know how much I love to dance, and Glee Club would be the perfect place for me to showcase my talent. I mean, my dad was in it when he was in high school and look where he is now; he's running a choreography studio with Santana and Brittany, two of their fiercest dancers I know."

"Just try not to get sucked in with any of the losers." Jenna warned. "You don't need a slushie facial every morning before you get to school."

"Oh, come on, I doubt the students are as opposed to the Glee Club as they were twenty years ago." Teddy figured. "I'm sure you'll be fine." He said, offering up a small smile to his friend.

Katie always appreciated the fact that Teddy looked out for her. She couldn't help but think how lucky her best friend was to have such an amazing guy in her life. It almost made her wish she had someone that special too...

"Hey, so are we still on for the mall later today?" Jenna asked, pulling Katie from her thoughts. "I need to pick up a new pair of high heels for this weekend. Teddy's taking me to his parents' ranch house for a couple of days."

Katie looked somewhat disappointed by this, but Jenna didn't seem to notice. "Yeah, I'll meet up with you later." The junior promised, picking up her lunch tray and leaving before she threw up what she just ate due to the harrowing pain in her heart and stomach.

**~~ Tangled In Chords ~~**

Avaline Puckerman had decided to go to the school's library after the activities fair ended and check out the first novel on this month's list for the book club she had signed up for earlier. Reading was one of the few things the freshman found to be educational and exciting. She wasn't a fan of sports or dancing like most girls her age. She'd much rather sit down with a cup of tea on a rainy day and read a good book. Ava searched the countless rows of paperback novels, running her fingers along the rough binding as she reveled in the ambiance of utter tranquility.

As she descended deeper into the library, she started to hear a faint, peaceful voice coming from behind the last bookshelf. Ava couldn't make out what he was saying, but his tone expressed so much emotion and passion, she was beginning to wonder if the intriguing sounds were just in her head. That theory was quickly disproved though when she turned the corner and saw a boy in a smokey-gray sweater, beige skinny jeans, and beanie hat, sitting criss-cross on the floor with his back leaned up against the wall, a book in his lap.

It was Augustus Corcoran, the boy who made you believe in magic.

_"The only people for me are the mad ones," _he read, _"the ones mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing but burn, burn, burn like fabulous roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everything goes 'Awww."_

Ava watched as he sat there, completely still. He didn't continue reading, instead, he waited, breathing silently. He was allowing the words time to seep in, and it was one of the most fascinating things Ava had ever seen.

"That was beautiful." She finally spoke, softly, causing the boy to look up at her and smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry." August apologized, but there was no need to. "I didn't realize anyone else was in here."

"No, it's fine." Ava replied, leaning against the bookshelf. "I actually enjoyed it. What were you reading?"

"_On the Road._" He answered. "It's an autobiographical novel written by John Kerouac, where it chronicles his years traveling the North American continent with his friend Neal Cassady, in a quest for self-knowledge and experience."

"Sounds interesting." Ava said, taking a seat down on the floor with him. "So, do you make it a habit of reading alone in the library?" She asked with a raise of her brow.

August chuckled. "Sometimes. I do have to admit though, it is nice to have company every once in a while."

"Well I'm glad I could be of service." The freshman replied, taking a fake bow, causing them both to smile. "I'm Ava." She said, holding out her hand.

"August." He responded, shaking it. Ava couldn't help but notice how nice his smile was. She was pretty sure if she ever happened to be diagnosed with depression, that smile would be all she needed to make a full recovery.

"Did you want to borrow it?" August asked, shaking her from her trance. "The book, I mean. I bet you would like it."

"Are you sure? I mean, you really seemed to be into it from what I saw."

"Yeah, it's no problem. I've read it like ten times." He clarified, handing over the book. As Ava was skimming through the synopsis on the back, August took this as a chance to read over his text messages. He had one new one in his inbox; it was from Maddie. The two had occasionally been sending each other messages throughout the day, and the last question he remembered asking her was what she was doing after school. August unlocked his home screen and read over her response:

_**Maddie: **__Hazel and I have work from 2-7 at Breadstix :( But we'll probably grab something to eat afterwards if you want to come! P.S. Hazel won't shut up about you haha_

August typed back a quick 'I'll be there" with a smily face and hit send, just as he received another text message, this time from his sister.

_**Lily: **__I'm waiting in the parking lot._

The junior took this as an indication that it was time to pack up his things and leave. "Hey, I have to go now," he said to Ava, "but I'll see you later." August strode halfway to the exit when he turned back around. "And be sure to tell me what you think of the book." He added, nearly running into a table because he was walking backwards and not looking where he was going.

This made Ava giggle. "I will. And be careful!"

She received a stern "shhhh" from the librarian in return.

"Sorry." She whispered. Ava watched as August left the library, butterflies rustling around in her stomach, making her feel as if she were floating through a meadow of beautiful flowers. Scratch that, even for the hopeless romantic in her that was a bit too sappy.

**~~ Tangled In Chords ~~**

Elijah St. James and Oliver Puckerman were letting loose on the baseball field late into the afternoon. The sun was beginning to set, creating a beautiful horizon brought to life by an array of colorful magenta and violet-painted skies. The clouds nestled at a high altitude, shading the area and generating just a cool enough breeze, allowing for the perfect outdoor weather to transpire.

Oliver had offered to stand in as a catcher so Elijah could practice his pitching, seeing as how he wasn't on the baseball team; he just wanted to help out his friend. He knew how much the sport meant to him; Elijah was already being scouted by several different colleges, so he planned to do everything in his power to make sure his dreams came true.

"How fast was that one?" Elijah asked, tossing a ball in and out of his glove.

"81 mph." Oliver read off on the speedometer. It was fast, but Eli knew he could do better. He was an overachiever, just like his mother and father, and always set the bar very high for himself. His competitive nature caused him to strain himself too thin, sometimes to the point of exhaustion. Eli constantly felt like there was room for improvement in every aspect of a person's life, and rarely saw tentativeness as a virtue.

"Alright, let's go again." Elijah replied, taking his stance on the pitcher's mound.

"Don't you think we should take a break?" Oliver asked, lifting up his catcher's mask. "You don't want to overdo it."

"I'm fine." The junior snapped. Oliver knew Eli too well to believe him when he acted like this. Normally, when he wasn't stressing about baseball, Elijah was very loyal and trustworthy. His friends could count on him for anything and his level of maturity was something a lot of people admired about him, but as soon as he started to over think things, he reverted back to this temperamental and erratic behavior, something Oliver had to admit scared him from time to time. He cared too much about his friend's well-being to watch him beat himself up over every little mistake he made.

"I think we should stop." Oliver said again, this time with more assertion in his voice. "It's getting dark anyway. Let's just go back to my house and watch sports."

Elijah remained still; Oliver knew it was going to take more than that to get him to leave this field.

"My mom's making lasagna for dinner tonight. I know that's your favorite." Eli's mouth shifted into a smile. It was only for a split second, but his friend noticed it, realizing he had persuaded him enough. "And my sister's working until 6 o'clock, so she won't mind if we play video games on her PS4. What do you say? Are you in?" Oliver asked, already knowing what his answer would be.

"Yeah, I guess so." Eli replied, giving in to the temptations of lasagna. All his friends swore he was the reincarnated version of Garfield the cat.

The two boys picked up their baseball equipment and packed it into a dufflebag. Eli swung it over his shoulder as they both made their way to Oliver's red, Ford F-150. Eli dropped the tailgate down and threw the dufflebag into the bed of the pickup truck before climbing into the passenger seat, excited to get some food in his stomach after a long day of practicing out in the sun.

**~~ Tangled In Chords ~~**

"Order up!" The ringing of a bell resounded throughout Breadstix, the restaurant hotspot for high school students and the Lima community. It was also the workplace of Hazel and Maddie, who waitressed there after school and on the weekends to save up money for college. Tonight was an exceedingly busy time, with everyone meeting up to swap summer stories and get a brief overview of what had happened in their friends' lives while they were away before school started up again tomorrow. The restaurant was overpacked, making it difficult for Hazel and Maddie and the other waitresses to swiftly maneuver around tables and take people's orders. At least if was worth it if the customer left a generous tip.

"I got it." Hazel spoke loudly to her friend so she could hear her over all the noise and commotion. "You take that table over there." She said, pointing at a group of rowdy football players sitting in a booth near the entrance to the kitchen. Hazel grabbed three platters of food and balanced them on her outstretched arms, making a mental note to move steadily to avoid spilling anything. Maddie headed over to the table of jocks, displeased that she was assigned to this part of the restaurant on tonight of all nights. She had already had to ask a man to leave because he wouldn't stop making obscene comments towards the chef and his cooking. Yet, despite her bad luck, she still had a job to do, so she hid her frustration and instead, plastered a big white smile on her face.

"Hi, I'm Maddie and I'll be your server today. What can I get you guys?" She asked, pulling a pen and notepad from the front pocket of her apron.

"How about your phone number?" One of the boys suggested, receiving a high-five from his friend. Maddie faked a laughed and pretended she wasn't bothered by it.

"How original. I've never heard _that_ one before." She replied, sarcasm seeping through her tone.

"I'd like an order of mozzarella sticks with a side of your sweet smile." Another jock attempted to charm her with a cheesy pick up line. This only caused her to roll her eyes. It was the same thing over and over again. Football player walked in, or any male athlete, it didn't really matter, and immediately began trying to flirt with her. She had never met a guy who just wanted to be her friend, except maybe...August. Maddie quickly tried to erase him from her mind as she listened to the customers' orders.

"Hey guys, I don't know if I can eat anything." A blonde-haired boy said, sounding serious, "I'm feeling kind of sick." Wait for it. "Lovesick, that is."

. . .

On the other side of the restaurant, Hazel was taking the order of a couple on their first date, one of the people being Flynn Hummel-Anderson, Hazel's friend and long time crush since the age of nine. Flynn came in here about once every month with a new girl on his arm. It wasn't that he was a player, he was just really terrible when it came to relationships. He made inappropriate jokes at the wrong time, you could never take him seriously because he was always acting like a goofball, and to complete the trend, he had absolutely no idea how to talk to women. He had even been slapped a few times by them due to his ignorance.

Flynn's dates with the girls he brought to Breadstix usually ended in one of two ways: with the girl storming out due to something stupid he must have said, or her leaving because she got bored and didn't want to sit through an evening with Bobo the clown.

He wasn't perfect by any means, but Hazel still loved his ridiculous antics and the fact that he could make her smile no matter how down she was feeling.

"Alright, should we start off with some drinks?" Hazel asked, pen handy. If she was being honest, it tore her up inside seeing Flynn here with a girl that wasn't her. She had been wanting him to notice her for so long, but she always managed to slide under his radar. So she had to stand here, month to month, and watch the guy she had liked since 4th grade bring another girl flowers and buy her dinner, all the while pretending to be happy for them.

"Yeah, I'll just have a glass of water. And for the lady?" Flynn asked, showing off his British accent.

"An iced tea, please." His date responded, and Hazel was dying to tell her just where she could shove that iced tea.

"Alright, I'll be right back with your drinks." As soon as she walked away, the phony smile on her face disappeared. She headed to the fountain area to get the queen her iced tea, where she met up with Maddie doing the same thing.

"Please tell me today is almost over." Hazel moped, setting her tray down on the counter.

"Less than an hour left now." Her friend replied, pressing the button for Diet Coke and letting the cup fill up. "At least you don't have to deal with a group of uncivilized knuckleheads. I swear if one of them hits on me again there's going to be a different kind of hitting going on; me hitting him and him hitting the floor."

"I have it worse, believe me." The red-head responded. "I got Flynn's table again and he's brought another mistress along. I'm not nine anymore, I don't know how much longer I can play pretend."

"You're right, you win." Maddie had to give it to her there. She couldn't imagine what it must feel like to be in her very cute shoes. "I say we hit up the ice cream parlor down the street after work and drown out all our troubles with a tub of cookies and cream ice cream."

"Sounds like a great idea." Hazel replied, picking up her tray. "You play nice now."

"I was about to say the same thing to you." Maddie quipped back, sending her friend a wink. The two girls parted ways as Hazel returned to the table from Hell. When she got there, she was surprised to see one chair empty.

"Where'd your date go?"

"She left." Flynn answered, sounding discouraged. He looked pathetic sitting there all by himself.

"But I wasn't even gone five minutes." Hazel said.

"That's plenty of enough time for me to screw up." He replied.

Hazel felt bad for him. It wasn't his fault he was so awful when it came to charming women, he grew up with two gay dads. She took a seat down on the unoccupied chair across from him. At this point, she didn't care that she was working a shift, her friend needed a confidence booster.

"Look, girls are complicated, okay? You just have to figure out a good way for you to communicate with them, because clearly the tactic you have now isn't doing you any favors."

"No offense, Haze, but what would you know about talking to girls?" Flynn asked, swirling the straw around in his cup.

"Um, duh, I am one." Hazel replied like it was obvious.

"Yeah, but you're not really a girl." The Brit replied, causing her eyes to go wide. "Well, I mean, technically you are, but going off all the years I've known you, you've never been interested in that romantic stuff, which makes you an awesome friend because then I don't have to worry about hurting your feelings. You're just like one of the guys."

Hazel's brain completely shut down at that point. It felt like someone had ripped out her heart and ran it over with a bulldozer. She was on the brink of tears, but she wasn't going to let Flynn see her cry, so she got up from the table and ran towards the kitchen, concealing herself before anyone could witness what it looked like to have your heart broken.

"What did I say?" Flynn wondered, shrugging his shoulders.

"You're an idiot." Maddie said from her place behind the counter. She had watched their conversation unfold and it took everything she had not to hop over the counter and slap him so hard it would finally knock some sense into him. She was waiting a table though, and their food was finally ready to be delivered. She picked up the trays and sent a glare Flynn's way before heading towards the football players' booth.

"Alright, I have a plate of mozzarella sticks for you," She spoke, placing the plate down next to its rightful owner, "a salad bowl for you, and some fettuccine alfredo for Casanova here." Maddie said, referring to the last guy that hit on her.

"Hey, so, what are you doing after this?" The blonde-haired jock from before asked.

"No you." Maddie retorted, thinking quick on her feet.

"Ouch, she's feisty boys. I find that attractive in a woman." He replied, smirking.

"I'm sure you'd find any woman attractive, the problem is, they would undoubtedly find you repulsing." Maddie spat, spinning around on her heel.

"Hey, wait," The jock interrupted, grabbing her arm to stop her from leaving, "what time do you get off?"

"How about a quarter to never? Sound good?" She asked, rhetorically. Hazel had been watching her friend from the kitchen, and in a situation where she would normally report the boys to her manager, due to all her pent-up emotion and aggression towards Flynn, she stormed right out there, not about to sit by and let her best friend be used as a play thing for these douchebags. The sophomore marched on up to their booth and pushed the boy's hand off of Maddie.

"I think you need to take a cold shower." Hazel said, picking up a cup of ice water from the table and pouring it down his shirt.

The blonde boy jumped up from his seat, trying to shake the ice out of his shirt. "What the hell?! Are you crazy?"

"It slipped." Hazel replied, nonchalantly, crossing her arms over her chest. Maddie was behind her laughing, covering a hand to her mouth.

"My dad works for the county. He could have you fired for this!" The jock threatened.

"Yeah, and then my friend here would sue your ass for sexual harassment. You know what, why don't you just leave and take your band of dimwitted lackeys with you? We don't serve animals."

And with that, the boys left in a hurry. A part of Maddie was stunned, but the other half of her was completely impressed. That was the first time she had ever seen her friend stick up for herself before, or in this case, for her. She had to be honest, it was kind of awesome. Who knew Hazel Lopez-Pierce had more badass Santana in her than she realized.

"You ready to get that ice cream now?" Maddie asked with a raise of her eyebrow, grabbing their coats from the rack and handing Hazel hers.

"Ice cream sounds delicious right now." Hazel replied, locking arms with her friend, both of them smiling and laughing as they exited the restaurant.

**~~ Tangled In Chords ~~**

**a/n: I really like to ask everyone questions after they read a chapter, so here are a few I thought up. Feel free to answer them :)**

**1. What was your favorite scene and/or quote?**

**2. Which characters do you like or find interesting?**

**3. How excited are you for the next chapter!?**

**Thanks for reading and be kind and review!**


	2. A Little Party Never Killed Nobody

**a/n: Here's chapter two like I promised! Songs are on my tumblr and character's outfits are on my polyvore!**

**~~ Tangled In Chords ~~**

Riley Shuester and the rest of the former New Directions were gathered at Will and Emma's home Sunday night, sitting around their living room eating snacks and reminiscing about the good old days. Well, most of them were good, the rest were filled with sadness, disappointment, regret, betrayal, and ridicule, and that was all before third period.

Will and Emma had been in the kitchen baking cookies with Marley and Tina, while Sam, Jake, and Mike shouted about the football game on television, Kurt and Blaine played some keys on the piano in the next room, Quinn, Puck, and Rachel laughed over jokes and funny memories, and Shelby, Mercedes, Brittany, and Santana talked about the Troubletones and how they were the fiercest and most talented show choir that ever came out of McKinley.

"So, Shelby, I heard Beth is coaching the Troubletones this year." Mercedes said. "What was your first thought when she brought up reviving show choir?"

"Well, at first I was a little hesitant to whether she could handle the responsibility all on her own, but I think she's up for it. Besides, not many people get the chance to teach right out of college, so I'm proud of her and want her to take full advantage of the opportunity she's been given." Shelby replied.

"You're such a good mom," Santana replied, not usually the one to give compliments unless they were to people she truly liked, "but everyone knows you can't top the originals. We were the hottest and most badass bitches at that school. There ain't nobody out there who can hold a candle to us, right babe?"

"It's true." Brittany answered, putting on a smug face.

"Oh, Santana, you haven't changed one bit." Shelby said with a laugh. "I have to admit, I've kind of missed your snarky attitude. It's almost scary how much you remind me of my own daughter."

"Well then she must be pretty awesome." The Latina responded.

"She is," Shelby replied, smiling, but it quickly faded, "except as of late, I've been worried about her. I just don't want to see her shut everyone out who cares about her."

"I'm sure she'll come around eventually." Santana replied. "I was the queen of shutting people out in high school and I didn't turn out so bad; that was mostly due to this one though." She added, pointing at her wife, Brittany. "But irregardless, if she ever needs someone to talk to, I'm always here." Santana would never admit it, but she had gone soft after eighteen years married to Brittany. She was the love of her life and the one person who could break through her tough exterior to find a sweet and caring person inside.

"Thanks, Santana," Shelby appreciated, "you've really grown up."

"What can I say? I like to keep it real." The brunette responded, honestly.

At that moment, Riley walked into the living room, gaining everyone's attention. "Alright guys, it's time to get this meeting underway."

"Does that mean you're finally going to tell us why you invited us all here?" Quinn asked. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm all for friendly get-togethers, but there is a bigger picture behind this, right?"

"Yes, I was just getting to that." Riley replied, shutting off the television so all the people in the room could hear him, much to the mens' disappointment. "I've asked you all to come here tonight because I have a proposition for you." He said, causing everyone to listen closely. "Sue has agreed to bring back the Glee Club if I can get enough money to fund it myself, but seeing as how the club has no boosters and I'm a broke college student, I was wondering if you guys would be willing to help me out. The club would cost near $600 a month for classroom fees, props, and that's excluding the money needed for competitions if we make it that far. I know that sounds like a lot of money, but split between sixteen people, it really wouldn't be that much."

"And what exactly do _we_ get out of it?" Puck asked, resulting in Quinn nudging him in the arm.

"Well, I was planning on recruiting your kids, with your permission, of course. I mean, Glee Club was such a huge part of your high school experience, so why can't it be a part of theirs as well?" Riley asked.

"I have to be honest, I think this is a brilliant idea!" Rachel exclaimed. "Imagine all the solos my daughter would get."

"Excuse me?" Kurt questioned, getting sassy, "_your _daughter, I think you mean _my _son." Despite him and Rachel being best friends, even he knew when she was being too overconfident.

"Not to be rude, Kurt, but whose daughter has already starred in several school productions and was even nominated president of the drama department?" Rachel asked, believing her daughter warranted the most attention in Glee Club.

"Oh please, everyone knows she made that up." Kurt responded. "She may be the spitting image of you, Rachel, but that doesn't mean she has the talent to take Glee Club to the top."

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT!?" The former Broadway actress bellowed, standing up from her chair.

"Ya'll need to hush," Mercedes replied, waving her finger at them, "cause everyone already knows Stephen's gonna rock the house."

"I swear, if him and Frank...Franz...Fran-whatever-her-name-is become the new Blaine and Rachel, I'm so done. My kids deserve some of the spotlight too, if not more than others." Santana said, crossing her arms over her chest and sending a glare at Rachel.

"No offense, Santana, but I don't really think your kids have star potential as singers in the same way my children do. Isn't one of them a jock and the other a writer? Call me insensitive, but I just don't believe your kids have what it takes." Rachel replied.

"I will call you insensitive, Dwarf," Santana spat, "as well as crude, delusional, and narcissistic."

"Look, Santana, I know you're still jealous I got the lead role in _Funny Girl, _but that was like twenty years ago. There's no reason to resort to name calling." Rachel said.

"Jealous!?" Santana emitted frustration, standing up alongside the smaller of the two. "Have you gone so senile that you forgot I quit that stupid show, not only because I couldn't stand to be in the same room with you for more than five seconds, but because I decided to go on vacation with Brittany? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you let all that fame go to your misshapen little head."

Mercedes quickly stifled her laugh. She had to admit, the girl still had it going on with the insults.

"Do you realize that not one person in this room is fighting me on this?" Santana continued. "That's because they all agree with what I'm saying. Sure, I may be a bitch, but at least I'm honest about it; you try to act so innocent, and honestly, Rachel, it's getting old."

"Alright, you two, that's enough." Will interrupted. "We didn't come here to rehash old arguments. This is about your kids, and if you want to help them, I suggest you listen to what Riley has to say."

Santana cleared her throat. "I could be down with that." She said, taking her seat back on the couch with Brittany. Her wife rubbed her arm to try and get her to calm down, and thankfully it worked. Rachel took a seat on the opposite side of the room as she crossed one leg over the other, attempting to remain as polite as possible in the presence of an old rival.

"Okay, where was I?" Riley asked, directing people's attention back on him.

"You were talking about how you wanted to recruit our kids." Marley clarified.

"Right, well, I was thinking if most, if not all of them joined the club, we'd have enough to qualify for Sectionals. I understand winning would be a long shot, considering we're a first year show choir, but all of you did it! I'm just asking for the same opportunity you all gave my dad."

The entire room was smiling. It was refreshing to have someone remind them so much of Mr. Shue, the teacher they fell in love with. They could see he was serious about this and they wanted to help him carry out his vision.

Rachel took a stand. "I think it's safe for me to say that each one of us in this room would be happy to support you." She said, smiling. "Mr. Shue, you don't happen to still have that dvd, do you?"

"One step ahead of you, Rachel." Will replied, pulling out a disc from the cabinet next to the television. "These guys made this for you while the Glee Club was ending. They wanted you know how much this club meant to them...how much _I _meant to them. You may not realize it now, Riley, but what you'll be doing for these kids' lives when you start this...it will change them all forever, and that's something you can't put a price on. Their happiness is all that matters."

With almost the entire room in tears, Will popped in the dvd and they all watched it together. A new chapter in everyone's lives had just begun, and there was no telling what fate had in store for them.

**~~ Tangled In Chords ~~**

The hour was nearing seven when August and Liliana pulled up to Scoopy's Ice Cream Parlor in their blue, Jeep Wrangler convertible. August had received a text message from Maddie thirty minutes ago telling him to meet her and Hazel there. Liliana had mistakenly invited herself along, not knowing his friends were going to be there. August had also decided not to tell her in hopes of his sister getting some much-needed interaction with other people her age. He was growing tired of her perpetual demand for privacy and isolation.

The two got out of the car and stepped on to the sidewalk when Lily noticed two girls waving at them from a nearby table. Maddie and Hazel had opted to sit outside, taken into account the beautiful evening, and changed out of their waitress uniforms into something more fashion forward.

"Why are those girls waving at us?" Lily asked, not wanting to know the answer.

"Because I came to see them and they're being polite." August replied, causing his sister to stop dead in her tracks.

"No way, you did not tell me you were coming to meet friends." Lily said, clearly outraged.

"Come on, let's just go say hi." August insisted, reaching for her arm, but she pulled it away. "Seriously?" He asked the entitled person standing in front of him. "Liliana, you're being unreasonable. You can't live your entire life with animosity towards other people. Mom and I have let your attitude slide for six months because we didn't want to cause you further distress, but now it's got to stop. We're not going to tolerate you sitting in your room all day reading a book, or listening to music, or doing whatever else it is that you do, I don't even know anymore." August let out a deep breath, he hoped he wasn't being too hard on her, but these were things she needed to hear. "It's either that or you can walk home." He said, dangling the car keys in his hand. "It's your choice."

Lily would have seriously considered walking home if it weren't for the fact that she lived ten miles away. She didn't want to stay here either though, so she was feeling conflicted.

"I'm not talking to them," Lily affirmed, bodying his shoulder as she walked by, exhibiting her frustration. "Oh, and you're buying my ice cream." She added.

August followed her to the table, accepting her compromise. _Baby steps, _he thought. Before taking a seat, he introduced her to his friends, Maddie and Hazel. "Hey guys, this is my sister, Liliana. I hope you don't mind that I brought her along."

_Brought me along? _Lily replayed in her head. _Tricked is more like it._

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." Maddie replied, happily. Lily just rolled her eyes and sent both girls an icy glare, keeping her promise of remaining voiceless. Maddie and Hazel shared a confused look.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." August explained, pulling out a chair and sitting down. Lily immediately left to go order ice cream at the counter, remembering to note her brother would have to pay her back for this eventually. "Don't take it personally," he said, keeping his voice low so she wouldn't hear, "she's had a difficult time coping with everything since my dad died. He was an Air Force pilot, and he died in a plane crash six months ago."

"Oh...I'm so sorry to hear that." Hazel replied, she and Maddie both appearing to be compassionate and supportive. They couldn't imagine what their family must be going through.

"You know we're here if you ever need to talk." Maddie added, sympathetically, placing her hand overtop August's on the table. He looked down at it and smiled.

"Thanks, it means a lot to me." August acknowledged. "Also, if you two could try to bond with Lily and make her feel included, I think your efforts would go a long way in helping her deal with her emotions. I know she's stubborn, so don't expect her to take to you right away, but I think her having some girl friends will help her feel like her old self again."

"Say no more," Hazel responded with a smile, "you can count on us." Maddie nodded her head in agreement.

Lily came back with her strawberry ice cream and set a vanilla cone down on the table for August. Her brother looked surprised. He couldn't understand how she was able to loathe him one minute, yet then still find it in her heart to think about him enough to get him his favorite ice cream flavor. She was definitely a conundrum that girl.

"So, Lily," Maddie began, directing her attention at the brunette, "are you thinking about joining any clubs when school starts?" She didn't reply, causing Maddie to believe August may have overestimated her willingness to converse with others. "It's probably too early to tell, but I'm sure you'll find something that interests you. Did you play any sports at your old school?"

Still nothing. Maddie was beginning to wonder if it was even worth asking her questions at all.

"She was the starting center forward on the girl's soccer team. She led the state division in scoring, right Lil?" August asked, waiting for his sister's confirmation, but if never came. Instead, he was met with the image of her texting on her cell phone...again.

"Hey, my brother, Austin, plays soccer for McKinley, maybe you guys could practice sometime. He's always up for a little friendly competition." Hazel added.

"That sounds like a really good idea." August replied with a smile. "Hey, maybe we could all get together and scrimmage a game sometime."

Lily still refused to comment on anything. August was beginning to lose hope his sister would ever open up, until Maddie received a text message on her phone.

"Hey, my cousin just texted me that she's throwing a party at her parent's lake house." Maddie said, causing Lily to perk up at the sudden news. If there was one thing she was always down for, it was a party. "You guys wanna come?"

"That depends," Lily replied, putting her phone in her pocket, "will there be alcohol?"

"Well it's not really a party until there's booze involved, and my cousin's not really one to hold out on what the people want." Maddie replied, giggling. "Does that mean you're in?"

She and August exchanged glances. "We are so in." They responded, simultaneously. Hazel immediately chalked it up to twin telepathy.

**~~ Tangled In Chords ~~**

Franziska, Stephen, and Lyssa arrived at Charlotte Puckerman's party around 7:30 pm. The couple had invited Lyssa to come along with them, considering she was new to the school this year and probably hadn't met many people in her time here. Franziska also took this as an opportunity to help Lyssa pick out an outfit for tonight. She's always loved dressing people up and giving them fashion advice, seeing as how she was very stylish herself and believed it wasn't considerate to keep all the good looks for herself.

"Oh, Stephen, they're roasting marshmallows outside!" Ziska exclaimed, jumping up and down. She loved bonfires and making smores. "Can we go?"

"Sure," her boyfriend replied, doing whatever possible to make her happy, "Lyssa, would you like to join us?"

"Of course, roasting marshmallows is one of my favorite things to do." She responded, happily. "They're the best when they're just a little burnt."

"Oh my god, I feel the same way!" The junior replied, locking arms with the California-native, leaving Stephen to walk behind them. "This is great, we're totally going to be best friends."

As the three of them stepped outside, Lyssa took a seat at an open lawn chair, while Ziska headed to the picnic table and picked up a roasting fork, placing two marshmallows on the end, one for her and the other for Stephen. She roasted the delicious treats over the fire, sitting on Stephen's lap, seeing as there were a limited number of chairs available.

A few minutes later, Lyssa got up from her chair and went to the picnic table, looking for a roasting fork. Unfortunately for her, there were none left.

"Here, you can use this one." A boy said, replacing the brunette's frown with a smile.

"Are you sure?" She asked, noticing he was sporting a McKinley Letterman jacket and blue jeans. Lyssa also couldn't help but notice how cute he was.

"Yeah, I'm done with it." He replied, handing it over. "I'm Silas. I don't think I've ever seen you at one of these parties before."

"Well I wouldn't expect you to. I just moved here from California, and my name's Lyssa, by the way." She responded, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh, you're a Cali girl. What in god's name forced you to move here? Or _who_ for that matter?" Silas asked.

"My mom just wanted a fresh start." The junior replied, not revealing the whole story behind their sudden move.

The boy nodded his head in understanding. "Well, be sure to thank her for me because you're the prettiest girl I've ever seen." This comment caused Lyssa to blush. No guy had ever paid this much attention to her at her old school, they were mostly just making fun of her. "We should hang out sometime, away from the party scene." Silas clarified.

"Sure," Lyssa said, attempting to not sound so eager, "I would like that." It seemed to work.

"Cool, I'll give you my number." He replied. Lyssa handed over her phone and he punched in seven digits. "Have fun at the rest of the party. Me and a few friends of mine are heading down to the river for a while to hang out. I'll be sure to ask them if I can invite you along next time."

"Thanks." Lyssa responded, waving to Silas as he left. With a huge smile on her face, she grabbed a roasting fork and stuck two marshmallows on the pointy ends. Heading over to the fire, she was stopped by Franziska, who was known for involving herself in everyone else's business. She constantly wanted to know what was going on in other people's lives, probably because she believed there was some way she could make it better.

"So, who was that boy you were just talking to?" Ziska asked, intrigued.

"His name's Silas." Lyssa replied. "I think he goes to our school. He's really nice." She added, smiling.

"I'm sure he seems charming now, but wait until later. God knows boys only want one thing, and if there's one thing I noticed while he was talking to, it's that he was checking you out." The junior observed, trying to look out for her new friend. She only reminded Lyssa of her mother, though.

"I'll keep that in mind, but Stephen's a guy and he seems really genuine."

"That's because he's Stephen. He's always been super nice. One time, in first grade, we were both in our elementary production of the "Pilgrims First Thanksgiving," and this kid playing the pumpkin said I needed to eat a helping of humble pie because I was being too bossy, so Stephen told him to leave me alone." This made Lyssa laugh. "But not everyone can be as awesome as my boyfriend." And here she went again, making it all about herself.

"No, perhaps they can't be." Lyssa replied, giving the girl what she wanted to hear in hopes she would stop lecturing her. Stephen was right about Franziska, I may take people a while longer to get used to her...abrasive personality.

**~~ Tangled In Chords ~~**

When Maddie, Hazel, and August arrived at the party, the two girls immediately drug August away to introduce him to all of their friends, leaving Liliana to figure her own way around, much to her satisfaction. She glanced around at all the random people she had never met before and cared nothing for, noticing the song "Float On" by Modest Mouse was playing on the stereo.

"At least whoever's throwing this party has good taste in music." Lily said to herself.

"Why thank you." Charlotte replied, who had happened to be walking by at the moment, picking up a few pieces of garbage, trying to make the house look more presentable for future guests with her friend, Aaron.

Of course, Lily had decided to attend the party of the one person she had met in her time here that annoyed the hell out of her. "I take that back. I wasn't aware that this was your house."

"Sure you weren't." The blonde countered, biting on a piece of black licorice. "This is my friend, Aaron. He's really cool." Aaron waved at the brunette, remembering her from earlier today. She was even more gorgeous up close.

"How can you eat that?" Lily asked, completely ignoring the senior. "It's disgusting."

"What are you talking about? Black licorice is the best." Aaron disagreed, grabbing a piece out of the bag for himself and chewing on it.

"Who are you again?" The brunette questioned, completely forgetting his name despite the fact she had heard it five seconds ago. "Brian?"

"Nice shirt." Charlotte cut in, sparing her friend anymore ridicule from the Wicked Witch of the East. "I wasn't aware you had a happy place."

"Take it as an homage to irony." Lily replied, causing Charlotte to chuckle.

"You know, you're kind of funny, even when you are being cynical." The blonde responded, paying her a compliment mixed with an insult. If flattery didn't work on this girl, maybe it was time to take a page out of her playbook. "I'm shocked you don't have more friends." She added, noting sarcasm.

Charlotte couldn't tell if Lily looked impressed or offended. Aaron didn't seem to notice, he was too distracted by their witty banter to bat an eyelash. _Was this how girls usually talked to each other_, he thought to himself. "Well, you know, I'd probably be a little friendlier if people knew when to take a hint."

"Oh god, I totally understand what you mean." Charlotte replied, deciding to mess with her. "Like when someone won't stop talking to you, even when they know you don't want to talk to them, and it's just this ongoing conversation, while the whole time you're just praying for them to stop talking or leave you alone. Yeah, I hate when people can't take a hint." She finished with a smirk.

Lily was at a loss for words momentarily, and not in a good way. "I think I'm gonna go now." She said, squeezing between Charlotte and Aaron before walking away.

"Have fun at the party!" Charlotte called after her.

"You should really lay off on the sarcasm, Char," Aaron warned, "I don't think what you're doing is helping your chances with her."

"Trust me, she secretly likes it." The junior replied, continuing to pick up trash on her way to the kitchen. She set the garbage bag in the closet and took a seat at the counter. "Hey, Oliver, be a doll and make me a vodka cranberry?" She asked, giving her cousin those big, puppy dog eyes.

"Sure." Oliver replied, chuckling. He wasn't a fan of drinking himself, but he had no problem making drinks for his friends.

"Thank you." Charlotte responded. "So, did you enjoy getting to see your dad this summer?" She asked her friend.

"I don't know, I guess." Aaron replied, unconvincingly, swirling a straw around in his cup of rum and coke.

"What do you mean you guess? When I talked to you before your trip you told me you were excited to see your dad. What happened?" The blonde asked as Oliver handed her her drink. She smiled in return.

"I just don't feel like he understands me." Aaron explained. "We barely have anything in common, and he rarely seems interested in anything I want to do. He's always too busy directing a Broadway musical or attending a Gala event for some rich celebrity. He and my sister get along great, but when it comes to me and Eli, I don't think he knows us at all."

"That blows, dude, he's missing out." Charlotte said, patting her friend on the back. "At least you still have me." She added, trying to cheer him up.

"Lucky me." He replied, borrowing some of her sarcasm from earlier.

"Shut up." She returned, nudging him in the arm.

The two ceased their laughing, Aaron getting serious for a moment. "No, but, in all honesty, Char, I'm really lucky to have a friend like you. It's nice to know someone has my back." This caused the blonde to smile.

"Likewise, St. James." She responded, resting her head on his shoulder as they sipped their drinks and avoided all the craziness of this party.

**~~ Tangled In Chords ~~**

Downstairs in the basement, Austin, Elijah, Oliver, and Aaron were playing a game of strip beer pong, set up on the pool table, and they had gained quite the crowd. Sure, most of them were girls wanting to see four hot guys take their clothes off, but they didn't really find anything wrong with that, especially Austin, who had no problem with giving the ladies what they wanted.

"Alright, every time the opposing team throws a ping-pong ball in one of the cups full of beer, you have to chug the cup and take off one article of clothing." Avaline said, explaining the rules to everyone. She also couldn't resist the temptation of shirtless hot guys, except maybe Oliver, considering he was her cousin.

"Got it." Aaron responded, being the first on his team to take a shot. He was paired up with Austin while Eli and Oliver were on a team together. Aaron missed the pyramid of cups wide right, signaling Austin's turn. The junior had his eyes set on the middle cup before aiming and firing. Bullseye. The girls cheered as Eli chugged the first cup, taking off his beanie. Oliver was up next, missing his first shot. Eli followed, making one of the cups on the end. Austin wasted no time taking off his shirt, causing the girls to cheer even louder.

"I knew you'd like that." Austin said, throwing his shirt at Ava. She deflected it, appearing repulsed. Although she found Austin extremely good-looking, she would never be attracted to such an arrogant jerk.

Aaron was up again, this time putting more arch behind his throw, hitting a cup on left side. Oliver picked it up and downed it quickly, discarding his jacket. Austin made quick work of the next cup, throwing the ball in with ease. Eli rolled his eyes as he drank another whole cup of beer, taking off his shoes. Their team was up next, and they both missed.

"Come on, Eli, if you keep throwing like this McKinley's going to need a new pitcher." Aaron teased his brother.

"Shut up and throw." Eli replied, ignoring the senior.

Austin and Aaron tossed another two ping-pong balls into red solo cups, causing Eli and Oliver to endure more alcohol. Oliver threw his shoes on the couch as Eli unbuttoned his plaid t-shirt and dropped it on the ground.

"Please have this go in." Oliver prayed to himself, closing his eyes and throwing the ball blindly. Luckily for him, it hit the cup in the center. He and Eli high-fived as the junior continued their streak, shooting a ping-pong ball into another cup. Aaron took off his first piece of clothing, his sweatshirt, while Austin stripped down to his boxer-briefs, taking off his pants.

"You couldn't have gone with the snapback, dude?" Aaron asked, shaking his head at his friend's vain persona and self-confidence.

The score was 3 to 5. Aaron and Austin were only halfway to winning. As the game progressed, Oliver lost his t-shirt and pants, Eli discarded his Star of David necklace and jeans, Aaron tossed away his watch, shoes, v-neck, and pants, and Austin gladly took off his Vans and hat. In no time, the score was all tied up.

"Alright, the score is 9 to 9. Next point wins." Avaline said, continuing to act as their announcer.

Aaron and Austin were up first, and both boys missed, beginning to feel the amount of alcohol in their system. It was Oliver's turn next, and he barely missed. Eli was the last to go for their team, and if he made this, the game would be over. He mustered all the soberness he had left in him and fired the final shot. If there was ever a time for his baseball pitching skills to pay off, now would be the opportune moment. Everyone watched as the ping-pong ball flew through the air, nearing the red cup every second, until finally, it fell in and made a splash. The entire room cheered for Eli and Oliver's victory as Aaron and Austin looked disappointed and pissed off.

"Don't you dare take those boxers off." Aaron warned in a serious tone, the last thing he needed to see at this party was Austin's junk. The junior settled on discarding his watch, much to the other boy's satisfaction. Aaron may have lost one battle, but at least he won the war.

**~~ Tangled In Chords ~~**

As the raging party continued downstairs, Hazel had been upstairs, coming back from using the ladies room when she spotted Flynn siting on the balcony by himself in a lawn chair. She was still angry at him for that stunt he had pulled earlier, but her feelings for him hadn't changed. It wasn't his fault he saw her as a friend and she couldn't hold that against him, so instead of walking past the screen door, she stepped out on the balcony with him.

"Hey," she said in a tender voice, taking a seat on the spare lawn chair.

"Oh, hey," Flynn replied, sounding morose. He was fiddling with the phone in his lap, appearing to be waiting for something.

"Expecting a call?" Hazel asked, keeping her delicate tone. She still felt heated, but she didn't want him to think she came in here to yell at him.

"Um...no, I'm actually debating whether or not to call someone." Flynn responded.

"That girl from tonight?" The red-head questioned. "No offense, Flynn, but considering how soon into the dinner she left you, I don't think she wants to talk to you."

"No, not her." He clarified. "It's a girl I met over the summer. She's funny, and smart, and kind, and I can't get her out of my head, but I screwed things up so bad I don't think I fix it."

Hazel would be lying if she said those words didn't sting. Every time he talked about someone in the way she wished he would talk about her, her heart broke a little bit. She couldn't fathom how another person on this planet could care about Flynn as much as she did. She always put him first, even if it was at the expense of her own feelings. "What happened?" Hazel asked, in more of a whisper.

"It's a long story." Flynn replied. "The point is, I want her back, I just don't know what to say."

Hazel watched as he battled the internal conflict in his mind, realizing how much it was damaging him to be able to come up with no solution. She thought long and hard about what she was planning on recommending next, considering if may bring the end of Flynn Hummel-Anderson's terrible streak with charming women and her slim chance of becoming the one thing she's always wanted.

"Call her." Hazel commanded, putting aside her own personal needs. Flynn looked surprised and confused, he didn't understand where she was going with this. "I'm going to help you out."

The blonde began slowly punching numbers into his phone as she elaborated. "Just repeat after me." Hazel advised.

"It's ringing." Flynn said, nervously, the phone held against his ear.

_"Hello?" _Came from the other line.

"Hi, it's Flynn." He answered in his British accent. "I'm sure I'm probably the last person you want to talk to right now, but I have something I need to tell you." He said, immediately looking to Hazel for guidance.

"I want to be with you." Hazel began, and Flynn repeated after her. "You're all I ever think about, even in those times when I wish I couldn't think at all...because the mistake of not being brave enough to tell you how I truly feel has haunted me for the longest time. I know I screwed things up between us, and I know it's absurd to try again, but I can't shake this feeling that we belong together."

Everything in Hazel's face expressed that these were the words she had wanted to say to Flynn, but never had the confidence.

"Is there any part of you that's willing to give us another chance?" Hazel asked, but it was in Flynn's voice where it held the most influence.

His face immediately lit up. "It worked!" He said happily, covering the phone to his chest so she wouldn't hear on the other line. "I owe you one." Flynn gave Hazel a thumbs up and walked back into the house with a newfound kick in his step.

A few seconds passed by until the feeling of emptiness settled in Hazel's heart and stomach. Her selflessness had never hurt more than it did in this moment. It was all give with her, and she wished that for once someone would make her feel special. The tears started falling not long after, and despite the fact that this wasn't her party, she was going to cry if she wanted to.

As Hazel remained on the balcony outside, inside, an unexpected visitor made his way through the living climbed up on a table to make an announcement. "Excuse me ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please?" Yosh said in a loud voice, gaining everyone's attention.

"Yosh, what the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be grounded!" Kaitlin yelled at her brother, exhibiting frustration.

"I know, I snuck out." Yosh replied, smiling, appearing to be very pleased with himself. "Mom and Dad went to the Shuester's house for the night, so I figure by the time they notice I'm gone, the party will already be over, and I'll have had one night of glorious freedom before they shun me for all eternity."

Kaitlin just shook her head at her brother's stupidity and rebelliousness. "You're a moron."

"That may be, but at least I know how to have fun." Yosh responded. "Now, who's ready to get drunk!?" The sophomore asked, receiving cheers and hollers from everyone in the room. "That's what I thought."

All of the second generation, New Directions kids gathered in Charlotte's bedroom to play "Never Have I Ever", where half of them sat on her bed while the other half made themselves comfortable on the floor. Charlotte shut her door and took a seat on her bed between Maddie and Aaron. Lily had opted to sit on the windowsill away from everyone else, borrowing Charlotte's copy of F. Scott Fitzgerald's _The Great Gatsby _off the bookshelf and opening to the first page. The blonde would have been disappointed due to Lily's lack of participation, if she wasn't somewhat glad the girl found interest in something she had owned for many years.

"Okay, so I'm sure all of you know the rules of "never have I ever," but considering I'm adding a twist to it, I'll give a brief overview." Yosh said. "Someone starts a sentence with, "Never have I ever," and if someone in the room has done that, they take a drink of alcohol. Does everyone understand?" They all nodded their heads in agreement. "Cool, who wants to go first?"

"I will." Elijah replied. "Never have I ever...gotten a perfect score on my PSAT."

Everyone looked at Stephen and laughed, knowing he would be the only to have to take a drink. "Hey, at least it's not something embarrassing." Stephen replied. "Okay, my turn. Never have I ever been to the hospital because I was sick."

"Lame." Austin replied, downing a cup of alcohol. Aaron, Charlotte, Yoshua, Lyssa, and August all followed suit. Lily shared a look with her brother, appearing concerned, something Maddie didn't miss. She couldn't help but wonder what that was all about. "Alright, never have I ever gotten my pants caught in an elevator, and when the doors closed, they ripped off." Austin said, recalling an embarrassing moment he had witnessed happening to his sister when she was eight.

"Jerk." Hazel mumbled, taking a drink of alcohol. He promised he would never tell anyone that. "Anyway, never have I ever..." the sophomore thought for a moment, trying to think of a way to get Lily involved. She and Maddie were still brainstorming ways to get her to relax and unwind, "had to move homes within the last year." Hazel finished, knowing it would apply to Lily.

August was the only person to take a drink. His sister, however, obviously didn't seem up for it.

"Come on, Lil, we've totally done that." August replied. "Take a drink."

"Yeah, girl," Ava agreed, "learn to live a little."

Lily rolled her eyes and shut her book for a moment. She grabbed her beer off the dresser and downed the entire thing. A few people even looked impressed. "There, now shut up." She said, setting the empty bottle on the floor.

"Wait, you have to think of something you've never done before." Yoshua explained, much to the brunette's ever-increasing annoyance. Why couldn't they all just leave her alone?

"Okay, um...how about this? Never have I ever disliked so many people in the same room at one time before." Lily said, standing up and tossing the book she was reading on the bed. "Happy now? I played your dumb little game." She added, walking out of the bedroom and slamming the door shut. Charlotte felt empathy towards her, despite Lily being the one to lash out; she couldn't imagine what it must feel like to leave all of your friends and move to a new place. She must be uncomfortable and feel like she has no one to turn to.

"Your sister seems...pleasant." Kaitlin said, trying not to offend him.

"Yeah, no offense, August, but your sister's kind of a buzz kill." Oliver added.

"She's better once you get to know her." August defended Lily for what felt like the 100th time that day. "I promise, she's not all that bad."

"Yeah, well, I'll believe that when I see it." Austin replied, getting up and exiting the room. There had to be something more fun to do at this party than sit around with a bunch of people he barely knew. Everyone else soon followed suit, until the bedroom, once again, became quiet and desolate.

**~~ Tangled In Chords ~~**

Jenna and Teddy were outside on the patio, getting a shot of Oliver doing a backflip into the pool, while Katie was sitting on a couch next to the outdoor fireplace, sketching cartoons in a notebook she had found lying around. She enjoyed drawing out random ideas that popped into her head at a moment's notice. Jenna didn't seem to care for her art work very much, but Teddy and her other friends always found them hilarious. Jenna, who was supposed to be her best friend, constantly shot down her creativity and tried to convince her to act more like herself. Katie didn't really understand this, considering the whole point of friendship was having the ability to accept someone as they were.

"Nice flying horse," Teddy said from behind her, hopping over the couch to sit next to Katie, "you should really consider taking up an art class. You're extremely talented."

"It's called a Pegasus." Katie corrected, continuing to scribble on the note pad.

"Like from _Hercules_?"The junior asked.

"Yes, like from _Hercules._" Katie chuckled. "And I don't know if art club would be the right fit for me, you have to be skilled in a lot of diverse areas, not just drawing cartoons."

"Well then do comics for the school newspaper." Teddy suggested. "I'm serious, I could pitch the idea to Jenna, and I bet she'd be on board with it in no time."

"No offense, Teddy, but you and I both know Jenna's not my #1 fan when it comes to my art work." Katie replied.

Teddy knew she was right. Jenna's life was reporting, she wasn't going to waste space in the paper for silly cartoons. "Fine, then we don't ask Jenna for permission, we just do it. There's no reason your drawings shouldn't be displayed for the whole school to see. You're too proficient to be taking orders from someone else, and I know you know that."

Katie was feeling conflicted. On one hand, Teddy had a point, she had always wanted to be noticed more for her talents, but on the other hand, Jenna was her best friend, and she didn't want to do anything that would upset her. "Jenna's your girlfriend though, don't you think she'd be angry that we decided to go behind her back?"

"Probably, but she'd get over it." Teddy assured. "You're her friend too, that has to count for something."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Katie responded. "She should feel happy for me that I found something I'm passionate about."

"Exactly," The blonde replied, "so, do you want to do it?"

Katie thought for a moment. "Yeah," she answered, "I think I do."

**~~ Tangled In Chords ~~**

August had come back with drinks for him and Maddie, taking a seat on the couch next to her and handing her a glass of pink lemonade. She had opted to be the designated driver tonight, deciding not to drink.

"Who are you texting?" He wondered, setting his beer down on the coffee table for a moment.

"It's my aunt." Maddie replied, annoyed.

"And why do I get the feeling that's somehow a bad thing?" August asked, noting her irritable nature.

"Because Gwen's not really an aunt more than she is a bothersome cousin. She's my mom's sister, but she's only 24, so that usually results in her hanging out with me and my brother over our actual parents."

"I'm not really sure where you're going with this..." August responded, somewhat confused and feeling out-of-the-loop.

"Gwen's super manipulative, to say the least. She's always flirting with the guys I like and telling embarrassing stories about me. She purposely flaunts herself in front of guys when I'm around because she's a model and she knows it aggravates me. It probably has to do with the fact that she grew up spoiled and always had to be the center of attention." Maddie said. "Everything with her is a competition, so whenever she comes to town, I'm just counting down the days until she leaves again."

"Wow, she sounds really self-absorbed, but you shouldn't let her get to you." He said, putting an arm around her shoulder. "There's no way someone that narcissistic could have such an amazing personality like you do." August replied with a smile, causing Maddie to blush.

"Well look at you being all sweet on me." Maddie responded in a giddy voice, tugging on his tan jacket. "I might have to reimburse you for that compliment later."

As they were talking, Lyssa stepped up on a small stage the Puckerman's had in their living room, accompanied by a karaoke machine and microphone stand. She was getting a little tipsy and had decided she wanted to sing a song. Franziska and Stephen watched on in bewilderment, believing her to be disoriented as she stumbled to the center of the stage. Lyssa grabbed the microphone off the mic stand and popped a cd into the karaoke machine. Charlotte had let her borrow it from the music collection in her room. As the melody started up, people recognized the song to be "Tattooed Heart" by Ariana Grande.

Lyssa began snapping her fingers along to the music as the opening lines to the song showed up on the screen; she didn't need them though. This was her go-to shower song.

_"You don't need a lot of money_  
_Honey you don't have to play no games"_

Her tone held so much grace and elegance, it created a deafening silence amongst the party guests, everyone listening closely and swaying along to her majestic voice.

_"All I need is all your loving_  
_To get the blood rushing through my veins"_

"Or you could make it up to me in a dance." August said, continuing his and Maddie's conversation, standing up from the couch and holding out his hand for her to take. The junior smiled and the two made their way to the dance floor. Maddie wrapped her arms around his neck as August put his around her waist.

_"I wanna say we're going steady_  
_Like it's 1954,_  
_No, it doesn't have to be forever_  
_Just as long as I'm the name on your tattooed heart, ohh"_

Franziska shared a look with Stephen, one of astonishment and uneasiness. She had been unaware of it prior to this, but Lyssa was an amazing singer, and she had made the silly mistake of befriending her rather than seeing her for what she truly was...her competition.

_"Just as long as I'm the name on your tattooed heart"_

The next lines of the song, Lyssa sang about the senior football player she had met that night, Silas. She felt comfortable when she was around him and he made her feel special.

_"Wrap me in your jacket, my baby_  
_And lay me in your bed_  
_And kiss me underneath the moonlight_  
_Darling let me trace the lines on your tattooed heart, ohh"_

As August and Maddie danced, the latter received another text message on her phone. It was from her aunt. Maddie laughed and showed it to August. "What did I tell you? She's crazy!"

_**Gwen: **__Are you at a party? Don't do anything I wouldn't do!_

This caused both of them to burst out laughing.

_"Just as long as I'm the name on your tattooed heart"_

The song ended and everyone cheered at an ear-splitting volume. Lyssa smiled as the cd skipped to the next song on the playlist. As violin strings began strumming in the background, everyone encouraged Lyssa to sing more, clapping and hollering like adoring fans. Franziska didn't seem as enthused though; her arms were crossed over her chest and she had a frown on her face. Stephen knew this wasn't going to end well.

Lyssa began singing the opening verse of the song, dancing seductively on the stage.

_**Lyssa:** "We're a thousand miles from comfort, we have traveled land and sea_  
_But as long as you are with me, there's no place I'd rather be"_

Hazel came in with the next lines of the song, making her way through the crowd towards her friend, Maddie.

_**Hazel:** "I would wait forever, exulted in the scene_  
_As long as I am with you, my heart continues to beat"_

Maddie jumped in, going back-to-back with Hazel as she sang. August looked surprised, apparently she had failed to mention to him that she was an awesome singer. He bobbed his head along to the song, smiling at her ability to capture an audience.

_**Maddie:** "With every step we take, Kyoto to The Bay_  
_Strolling so casually_  
_We're different and the same, gave you another name_  
_Switch up the batteries"_

Hazel, Maddie, and Lyssa ran through the screen door, out to the patio, where people began jumping in the pool and shaking their beer bottles, causing them to spray everywhere. Guys began breakdancing in the yard, showing off some hip-hop choreography as they flipped over each other.

_**All:** "If you gave me a chance I would take it_  
_It's a shot in the dark but I'll make it_  
_Know with all of your heart, you can't shame me_  
_When I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be_  
_N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be"_

_**Hazel: **__"When I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be," _she sang, thinking about Flynn.

The backyard was becoming wild and crowded. Everyone was dancing and having a great time. Charlotte decided to walk up to Lily, who was standing near the pool, in the middle of attempting to keep her parent's lake house in semi-decent condition.

"Having fun yet?" She asked, noticing the girl's disinterest.

"Not in the slightest." Lily answered, carelessly, sending a text message to someone. "You?"

Charlotte was surprised she returned the question. She fully expected her to ignore her. "Not particularly, I'm too busy worrying if someone's going to break something."

"Sucks for you." The brunette replied, unsympathetically.

_**All:** "If you gave me a chance I would take it_  
_It's a shot in the dark but I'll make it_  
_Know with all of your heart, you can't shame me_  
_When I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be_  
_N-n-n-no, no, no, no place I'd rather be"_

_**Lyssa: **__"When I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be"_

As the song finished, Maddie leapt into August's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and legs around his waist, sending them both falling backwards into the pool. They resurfaced from the water, smiling and laughing uncontrollably, until August brushed away a wet stand of hair stuck to her face and cupped her cheek with one hand. He couldn't help but get lost in those bright blue eyes sparkling like pearls at the bottom of a deep, dark ocean. Maddie visibly gulped as he moved closer; a million thoughts were rushing through her head, but were all being drowned out by the sound of her own heartbeat. With one final breath, she closed the gap between their lips and kissed him with such passion. It was as if their bodies molded together perfectly, and that in this moment, the world had stopped and it was just the two of them.

Maddie deepened the kiss, moving her body flush against his until it felt as if his white t-shirt was nonexistent. The heated pool added to their desire, resulting in the make-out session to take a turn in a steamy direction.

Above them on the stone pool deck, one jock got too excited and tackled Lily into the water, the sudden splash breaking up August and Maddie's kiss. The two watched on with apprehension as the brunette's head emerged from the chlorine-invested waters, coughing and gasping for breath. Charlotte had witnessed the entire thing, lucky enough to not have been taken out as well, and immediately rushed to go help her out of the pool.

"I can do it myself!" Lily said, hastily, causing Charlotte to back off and give the girl her space. Lily anchored her hands on the pool's edge and lifted herself out of the water. She crawled to her knees before standing up, Charlotte noticing how furious she was; her knuckles were clenched, her mouth was in a tight-lipped scowl, and her body was trembling, not from the cold, but from all her bottled-up aggression.

The boy that had assaulted her came out of the pool not long after. He slicked back his wet hair before speaking. "Hey, I'm really sorry," he apologized, "I guess I don't know what came over me."

"Come on, Lily, just forget about him." Charlotte intervened. "Let's go find you some dry clothes."

"One second," she resisted, turning her body to face the jock before grasping him by the shoulders and kneeing him in the nuts. He winced in pain as a gentle nudge was all that was needed to send him falling into the pool. Charlotte put a hand over her mouth in a failed attempt at trying not to laugh. The rest of the onlookers though erupted into a fit of laughter, some even clapping at her boldness. "Now we can go." Lily said, grabbing Charlotte by the hand and dragging her into the house.

The blonde lead Lily up to her room so she could change, heading over to her closet to pick out an outfit she could wear. They looked to be the same size. "Casual or comfy?" Charlotte asked.

"Comfy." The brunette replied with a shrug.

Charlotte rustled around in her closet for a few moments before pulling out a dated, red McKinley track and field sweatshirt, fitted, grey sweatpants, and a pair of Keds sneakers. "I'm a little taller than you so I hope they fit." She said, handing her the clothes. "You can change in the bathroom if you want."

"Thanks..." Lily replied, ambivalently, taking the clothes. She headed to the bathroom attached to her room, only to find that it wouldn't open. "It's locked."

"What?" Charlotte asked, walking over to the door and jiggling the handle. "Someone must be passed out in there. It happens all the time. I'll go fetch the key, you can just change in here if you want. I'll shut the door on my way out."

Charlotte left for a few minutes to find the key that unlocked her bathroom as Lily changed in her room. It felt a little strange, almost like she didn't deserve for Charlotte to still be so nice to her after how rude she's been. If it were her in this situation, she'd probably let the person freeze in their wet clothes and not care about what happened to them.

Lily attempted to erase these thoughts as she took a closer look at Charlotte's room. There were rows of books on the shelf by the windowsill, tennis trophies lining the mantle on the wall, and pictures in frames from when she was younger. Lily particularly liked one photo. It was sitting on the nightstand next to her bed. It was a picture of her and her dad standing on a take-off runway next to a plane. She was hoisted up onto his shoulders with her arms extended wide, pretending like she was flying. Lily hadn't known Charlotte's father was an Air Force pilot too, and it only managed to bring up old memories of _her _dad.

As she admired the photo, Charlotte opened the door quietly, stopping when she saw what Lily was doing. Her face softened as she noticed the girl almost looked sad, like all the happiness had drained from her body and all that was left was emptiness. The blonde quickly shut the door before Lily could realize she was surveillancing her.

"You decent yet?" She asked from the other side of the door.

"Yeah." Lily replied, wiping a tear from her eye before Charlotte could notice.

"I found the key." She replied, presenting it in her hand and unlocking the bathroom door. "Are you okay?" The junior asked in a serious yet sentimental tone.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine." The brunette lied. "It's just...I saw that picture on your nightstand and..." Lily was having a hard time forming words, so she decided to take a seat on the bed, "my dad was an Air Force General, and he used to take me flying all the time. I fell in love with it. I always dreamed of traveling the world and photographing pictures for _National Geographic _magazine or something like that."

"Why can't you?" Charlotte asked, taking a seat down next to her.

"Everything's different now. I'm not the same person I used to be." Lily replied, sounding despondent.

"What happened?"

Lily didn't want to answer at first; this would only be the second time she acknowledged her father's passing out loud. "He died."

"Your dad?" Charlotte questioned, appearing compassionate. Lily just nodded. "I'm so sorry for your loss." She said, resting her hand on top of hers. Lily felt the movement and glanced down at their hands, immediately pulling hers away. Sense quickly started rushing back into her brain as she stood up from the bed.

"I'll drop your clothes off at the school's office as early as possible tomorrow morning. I don't want to feel like I owe you anything." Lily said, reverting back to her normal, vulgar tone.

"Or you could just give them back to me later." Charlotte suggested, not understanding her rapid mood change.

"I'd rather not make it a personal encounter." Lily replied, cold and indifferent. The blonde's eyebrows furrowed. Was she really going to start acting like an insensitive bitch again? "Well, this party's lame. I think I'm gonna bail."

With that, Lily left. Charlotte rubbed her temple with her fingers and let out a sigh. This girl altered emotions faster than Taylor Swift sold albums, and at this rate, she was giving the blonde a serious headache. As Charlotte played over the scenes in her mind, someone came running through her room, straight to the bathroom, where they threw up in the toilet.

"Seriously, again!?" Charlotte yelled, falling back onto her bed and closing her eyes, waiting for this night to finally be over.

**~~ Tangled In Chords ~~**

The backyard outside looked filthy and disheveled, mirroring a foul-smelling junkyard. Empty beer bottles and discarded articles of clothing were scattered throughout the lawn as drunken high school students clamored to find their missing cell phone or car keys. Austin was lining the entrance to the woods, making out with a random girl up against a tree. He kissed down her neck while keeping her wrists pinned to the rigid wood.

The girl moaned. "Au-Austin," she breathed out, "maybe we should slow down...find some place more comfortable."

"What's wrong with right here?" The junior asked, unbuttoning her blouse.

"Well, it's not very romantic." She replied. Austin didn't make it a priority to remember her name, much like what happened with a lot of girls.

Austin looked confused. "Since when is sex romantic?" He asked, before he was attacking her neck again with another round of sultry kisses.

The girl was having a hard time resisting him; his attractive body and alluring, seductive voice made it all the harder to pull away. "I don't know, a lot of people think it is."

Austin was too turned on to register what she was saying anymore. He wrapped his hands around her waist, using the leverage to dig deeper into the crook of her neck. It took him back to the memory of him and Lyla, when they hooked up at a college party earlier that year. He remembered how soft her lips felt, how her sexy Australian accent had pulled him in, and how her contagious smile could be the cure to all the world's problems. Just thinking about her now made him want to be with her.

"Oh god, Lyla..." he accidentally said out loud, in a fit of passion.

"What!?" The girl exclaimed, pushing Austin off of her. "My name's Megan!"

"Is it?" Austin replied, too drunk to care. If he were sober at the moment, he probably wouldn't be acting so rude. "I wouldn't know because I've just been pretending to listen this entire time to whatever annoying thing you've had to say."

The girl slapped him hard across the face. "Jerk!" She called him before walking away. Good thing Austin wasn't sad that she was leaving.

"Well, that could have gone worse." He said, looking on the bright side of things. Austin began stumbling his way to the street corner, only to remember he had hitched a ride here with one of his football friends who had left an hour ago. He thought about asking for a ride home from his sister's friend, Maddie, but didn't really want to spend the time looking around for them, so instead, he pulled out his cell phone and began dialing a number. It rang a couple of times before a woman's voice picked up.

_"Hello?" _An Australian accent came from the other line.

"Lyla, it's me, Austin." The junior replied, slurring his words a bit.

_"Austin? Are you drunk?" _She asked.

"Maybe a little." Austin responded. "I probably shouldn't drive though." He said, smiling frivolously due to his cleverness.

He heard a sigh come from the other line. _"Where are you? I'll come pick you up." _

"You really care about me enough to do that?" He asked, his drunken state bringing out the more tender side of him.

_"Well, I'm assuming you got drunk at a party, so instead of having you risk driving and crashing your car, yes, I care about your well-being enough to come and get you. Now, see if you can figure out what the address is."_

Austin looked around for a moment for a number on the house. "Um...well it's on Bluff Street, and the address on the house says 4...7...5... and the last number is either a zero or Ms. Pacman." Austin said.

_"Right...I'll be there as soon as I can. Be waiting for me on the sidewalk." _With that, Lyla hung up.

Twenty minutes later, a black Ford Mustang pulled up to the curb, the dark car and bright headlights making for an eerie vibe. Austin may have even been a little scared if he didn't know who was behind the steering wheel.

"Get in." Lyla prompted through a cracked window. Austin quickly opened the door and sat in the passenger's seat.

"Thanks again for picking me up." Austin said, as Lyla pushed her foot down on the accelerator. "I know it's late."

"Well, you know, it was either come and get you or spend the night before school curled up in warm blankets with a cup of hot cocoa watching _The Simpsons. _I thought the choice was obvious." Lyla replied, her sarcasm easily perceptible.

"Sorry..." the junior apologized with a light chuckle, "that does kind of sound like fun though."

"Really?" Lyla asked. "I always pegged you as more of a beer and sports kind of guy."

"Well I guess that just proves you shouldn't judge a book by its cover." Austin replied.

"How wise. Where'd you hear that one?" She questioned, sarcastically.

Austin couldn't resist laughing. She was pretty funny. "All I'm saying is that there's a lot you don't know about me."

"And who's to say I even want to know those things?" Lyla asked with a raise of her brow.

"Well, you said it yourself, you had the decision to stay home tonight or come and get me, and you chose the less reasonable option, so that must count for something, shouldn't it?"

Instead of answering his question, Lyla kept her attention on the road. She didn't need Austin thinking this was anything more than just a friendly gesture. He was going to be her student, and like any good teacher, she wanted to protect him. That was normal, right? _Right?_

**~~ Tangled In Chords ~~**

The party was beginning to die down as the hour inched toward midnight and people started heading home. Avaline was helping her sister clean up the house by throwing the empty paper cups and plates into a giant garbage bag, recycling the beer bottles, and cleaning all the counters and cupboards. She had been standing on top of a kitchen counter at the moment, scrubbing down one of the food pantries with a wet sponge, and was already showing signs of annoyance.

"How do people even manage to make a mess this high up?" She mumbled to herself, putting more force behind her scrubbing in an attempt to get the stain out.

As Ava was cleaning the pantry, she received a text from her friend, Stephen. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, becoming distracted, and accidentally lost her footing on the counter. Immediately, she flew back in the air, the hard ground awaiting below, but before she could reach it a strong pair of arms caught her around the waist, mid-air.

"Whoa, you okay?" Elijah asked, keeping a strong hold on the bemused freshman.

Ava looked shocked and a little light-headed. Who knew Eli St. James, the boy who used to pick on her since she was in diapers, would be the one to come to her rescue. "You'd think as a swimmer, I'd be a little more balanced." Ava replied as Eli set her back down on the ground.

"Nah, I like you clumsy. It's like I'm looking behind the curtain." The junior responded with a light smile. It was sort of weird seeing this side of him. Ava knew him as the little boy who never let her join in on his activities, who pulled on her pigtails when she wasn't looking, and who always put thumb tacks on her chair before she sat down. She had grown up living next door to the St. James family, and while Charlotte and Aaron hit it off right away and became best friends, she and Eli couldn't stand each other. At least, he acted like he couldn't stand her.

"Nice catch, and to think you're the pitcher on the baseball team." Ava said, gaining a chuckle from Eli.

"I wasn't aware you knew anything about baseball." Eli replied with a raise of his eyebrow.

"Well, you can thank my dad for that." The freshman responded. "He and my mom were always dragging me to your little league games on the weekends. They've never trusted babysitters, mostly because they were such terrible ones as teenagers, so the only option was to take me with them."

"Why didn't you ever say 'hi' after a game?" Eli asked.

"Hmm...let me think." Ava paused for a moment, joking around by placing a finger on her chin. "Considering the only interaction I've ever had with you resulted in you putting gum in my hair, I guess you could say I found you rather aggravating."

Elijah laughed. "I guess that makes sense. How do you feel about me now?"

"Well, considering you just saved me from plummeting to my inevitable broken neck, I'd say you're on the right path towards rehabilitation." Ava replied, smiling.

"I can work with that." Eli replied, spending the rest of his time at the party helping Ava clean up.

Upstairs, Charlotte was vacuuming the carpet and checking all the rooms to make sure no one was in them, drunk and passed out. She didn't need any stowaways taking up resident in her parent's lake house when she went home for the night. She reached the end of the hallway and unplugged the vacuum. There was only one room left to check, her parent's bedroom. She opened the door, only to be met with darkness and the sound of crumpling bed sheets. Charlotte switched the light on and was meet with the image of two people under the covers, doing only what she recognized to be a very sexual act. It was Kaitlin and Teddy.

Charlotte immediately shielded her eyes, turned the light off, and shut the door. She stood there for a moment, leaned against the door, trying to collect her thoughts. This night was not turning out the way it was supposed it, least of all for her. A few seconds later, she felt the door being shoved against her back, realizing the two of them wanted out. Charlotte moved away from the door and crossed her arms over her chest.

Kaitlin and Teddy emerged from the bedroom, fully clothed, only to be met with the look of discontent and forlorn from Charlotte. "We're really sorry-" Kaitlin began, but she was cut off.

"Just get out." Charlotte interrupted, pointing to the front door. She was fed up with taking bullshit from asinine human beings. Her head _and _heart needed a break from all this nonsense before she exploded. Charlotte leant her back up against the wall and slid down until she was sitting on the floor, her knees hugged into her chest. "This night sucks."

**~~ Tangled In Chords ~~**

Augustus was sitting at a picnic table on the patio, wrapping up a game of poker with Oliver and Aaron; they had finished cleaning the front yard early and decided to play a quick game of cards. He was about to play his diamond flush and win the hand, when Oliver made a comment.

"Hey, dude, did you know your nose is bleeding?" He asked.

"What?" August replied, putting a finger to his nose and pulling it away to see it was covered in red.

"Do you need a tissue?" Aaron questioned.

"No...um, you guys keep playing." August insisted, getting up from his chair. "I'm think I'm going to go to the bathroom."

August went inside, but instead of heading to the bathroom, he went to find Lily. After a few minutes of searching, he found her laying in a hammock in the front yard texting on her phone. He walked up to her, his sudden presence causing her to sit up from her position.

"What the hell happened to you?" This sister asked, examining his bloody nose, that was now somewhat cleaned up due to a paper towel August had found inside. "Did someone punch you? Because if they did, you just tell me who it was, I'll kick their ass."

"No, Lily, no one punched me." August clarified, not wanting to set Lily off on someone. "I think we may have a problem." He said, sounding serious.

Liliana's facial expression immediately turned to one of urgency and caution. "We should get home and tell mom right away." His sister replied, grabbing August by the arm and leading him towards the street where their car was parked. Halfway to their destination, Maddie caught up with them.

"Hey, where are you guys going?" She asked, out of breath from jogging after them.

August turned around to face her, making it a priority to shield his nose as much as possible. "Um...we have to go home."

"Oh, well let me just get Hazel, I can drive you. I haven't had a sip of alcohol tonight." Maddie said.

"No." August responded, a bit too harshly. He immediately regretted it. "I mean, Lily's only had one beer. She can drive us just fine. Besides, we don't really want to leave our car here."

Maddie looked confused, she didn't understand why August was acting so weird. Did she do something wrong? "Okay..." she replied, disappointingly, "will you text me later?"

"Probably," he replied, but then changed his mind to "maybe."

"Is everything alright?" The brunette asked. She couldn't help but feel worried about him.

"Yeah, everything's fine." August responded as Lily rolled her eyes. She was growing tired of their worthless exchange of words.

"Okay, just as long as you're sure." Maddie said, not so sure she believed him. She moved forward to give him a goodbye hug, but he shifted away.

"I'll see you later." He interjected. "Bye." August waved to her before he and Lily walked to the edge of the curb on the street. Maddie watched as they got into their car, August not giving her more than a second's glance. She got this unsettling feeling in her stomach, like a heavy-weight fighter had just punched her a hundred times. She didn't want to believe it, but she felt he was hiding something from her, and either he didn't trust her enough to tell her, or it had something to do with the kiss that happened between them earlier. _Was he regretting it?_ So many thoughts were rushing through Maddie's head, and the only person who could answer them was speeding down the street in his Jeep Wrangler.

**~~ Tangled In Chords ~~**

**a/n: More questions!**

**1) Who predicts Maddie's aunt, Gwen, is going to cause trouble for some of the characters?**

**2) What do you guys think of the Charlotte/Lily relationship? Do you think there's something there?**

**3) How do you feel about what Teddy and Kaitlin did? How do you think Jenna's going to react if or when she finds out?**

**4) What's up with August? Any ideas?**

**Thanks for all your continued support and please review! I love hearing everyone's opinions :)**


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